Latest pick of cool artist in our ongoing collaboration with Sonicbids.

By Fred Mills

The BLURT staff put our heads (and ears) together and we have our January pick for our Blurt/Sonicbids "Best Kept Secret": it's stephaniesid, from Asheville, North Carolina, fresh from headlining their POPAsheville festival and currently prepping their new album for a release this spring. According to the band, they spent "four whole days at Collapseable studio in Asheville and got the whole new album recorded! It's gorgeous, y'all. big, beautiful.... Lane Bryant-style."

Here's what we had to say about the band's previous record, 2007's Grus Americanus:

Asheville-based electro/indie rockers Stephanie's Id are a good indication that the mountains of Western North Carolina aren't just for bluegrass and folk music anymore. On the band's third release, vocalist Stephanie Morgan's fierce, siren-like vocals are set against dramatic, stripped-down piano and a pulsing vibraphone. The result falls somewhere between Aretha Franklin soul and Björk's hypnotic electro-pop, with a distinctively dark, lean edge. Where the band's name is an allusion to the subconscious-the source of instinct and impulses-their music follows suit: Grus is a collection of raw, emotive tracks, ranging in style from sweet soul-jazz to the creepy drone of bands like goth-rockers Garbage. Yet somehow, amid all of the twists and turns, from dark to light, rebellious to sweet, Grus takes all of the distinctive personality swings, and never missteps in identity.

We'll have an interview with bandleader Stephanie Morgan next week where we give you the full lowdown on the group. Also check the BLURT radio soon as we'll have an MP3 by the band cued up and ready to spin. Meanwhile, check out the band's MySpace page: www.myspace.com/stephaniesid. And congratulations to stephaniesid: They're one of the good ‘uns, trust us.

***

Bands, go to www.sonicbids.com/blurtonline to submit and have us review your materials for feature consideration.

>Our November Best Kept Secret: The Handcuffs, from Chicago.

>Our December Best Kept Secret: Black Swan Green, from Brooklyn

[Photo Credit: Angelique Tassistro]

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

Monday, February 2:

5:00 VH1 Classic: In His Life - John Lennon

8:00 VH1 Classic: La Banba

11:00 VH1 Classic: Storytellers - Ray Davies, Jackson Brown, Elvis Costello, Sting, Black Crowes, Melissa Etheridge, Garth Brooks and Lyle Lovett are scheduled to be the segments rebroadcasted; check listings for which artist will be featured on any given night

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Akon

12:00 Sundance: Spectacle: Elvis Costello w/Renee Fleming

12:05 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: David Cook

12:35 NBC Conan O'Brien: Amy LaVere

1:35 NBC Carson Daly: Ben Harper

Tuesday, February 3:

9:00 AM Ellen Degeneres: Pink, Butch Walker

11:00 AM Sundance: Live from Abbey Road w/the Kills, Sara Bareilles, Fratellis

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Sara Bareilles

12:05 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: Bird and the Bee

12:35 NBC Conan O'Brien: Zac Brown Band

Wednesday, February 4:

9:00 Sundance: Spectacle: Elvis Costello w/Herbie Hancock

11:30 CBS David Letterman: Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Will I. Am

12:35 CBS Craig Ferguson: Samuel L. Jackson

12:35 NBC Conan O'Brien: Theresa Andersson

1:00 VH1 Classic: David Byrne's True Stories

[Photo Credit: Miranda Penn Turin]

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

Friday, January 30:

1:00 VH1 Classic: Classic Albums Fleetwood Mac Rumours

9:00 Sundance: Live From Abbey Road - The Kills, Sara Bareilles, Fratellis

11:30 CBS David Letterman: Gaslight Anthem

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: James Morrison

12:00 Sundance: Stoned (Brian Jones)

12:00 VH1 Classic: Metallica Some Kind of Monster

12:05 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: Benji Hughes

12:30 CBS Craig Ferguson: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

12:35 NBC Conan O'Brien: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Saturday, January 31:

1:30 VH1 Classic: Live Aid

8:00 VH1 Classic: Metallica Some Kind of Monster

9:00 NBC: Saturday Night Live Sports Extra

9:00 PBS: Austin City Limits: Nick Lowe + The Swell Season

11:30 NBC: Saturday Night Live: Steve Martin, Jason Mraz

Sunday, February 1:

11:30 VH1 Classic: Live Aid

12:00 Sundance: Spectacle: Elvis Costello w/Renee Fleming

1:00 thru 9:00 VH1 Classic: Classic Albums - Pink Floyd, Steview Sonder, Meat Loaf, The Who, Judas Priest, U2, Nirvana

2:00 HD Net: Guillemots - Live at the Astoria - Premiere

3:00 HD Net:  - LIVE! from Central Park SummerStage: The Best of w/Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ben Folds, Stellastar, Guster

4:30 HD Net: Gorillaz - Demon Days Live

5:45 HD Net: The Hives - Live From Terminal 5 in New York

7:00 HD Net: Daughtry - Live in California

8:00 NBC: Super Bowl w/Bruce Springsteen

Followup to last year's acclaimed self-titled rec.

By Blurt Staff

Team Love Records is proud to announce the release of The Felice Brothers' latest full-length, Yonder Is The Clock. Due out April 7th, the album is the follow-up to their critically acclaimed self-titled record released in 2008, which was their first for Team Love. Yonder Is The Clock is the band's fourth record, including their 2006 self-released debut Through These Reins and Gone and their 2007 release Tonight At The Arizona. With Yonder Is The Clock, the Catskill Mountain natives look to build upon the praise heaped upon them in the past.

Here's what BLURT had to say about The Felice Brothers:

"When music fans talk about bar bands, they usually point to groups with ringing power chords like the Hold Steady or R&B horn sections like Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. But not every bar is in the urban Midwest or on the shore. The Felice Brothers are the perfect band for that other kind of bar - the one that's on a dirt road in a small town where everybody knows each other. Their third album is full of acoustic guitars, ragtime horns, accordions and sing-along choruses, the rootsy music looking back to Dylan and The Band's Basement Tapes and Muswell Hillbillies-era Kinks. And for the most part, they nail it. The ballads are tender and the upbeat stuff is a blast.  So grab a glass - or even better, a flask - and join the party."

Meanwhile... titled with a phrase drawn from the pages of Mark Twain, Yonder Is The Clock is a nod to all of the American ghosts that lend their narrative and characters to the forthcoming release. The Felice Brothers studio was built from the remains of an abandoned chicken coop and it was there over the summer and fall of 2008 that they wrote and recorded this new collection of songs. The record is teaming with tales of love, death, betrayal, baseball, train stations, phantoms, pandemics, jail cells, rolling rivers and frozen winter nights.

As always, the band is incredibly excited to bring the new songs on the road in 2009 as they continue to take their compelling live act to people across the world. A defining memory to date might be their appearance at the 2008 Newport Folk Festival. A summer afternoon thunderstorm rolled in and began to douse the land. While it electrified the atmosphere, the rain had the adverse effect of cutting power to The Felice Brother's stage. After many assurances that power would be restored, The Felice Brothers were informed it was a lost cause, and that they'd have to make due. Without hesitation the band jumped down off the stage and began playing acoustic while stomping around barefoot in the mud that had formed on account of the ongoing downpour. What might have led some to call it a wash and leave was turned into another epic show that drew upon the familiarity and casual ease of the backyard bbq sessions that took place at their dad's porch on Sunday afternoons during their first days as a group. The audience that day, like others before and after, left utterly converted.

Simone, Ian and James Felice are the three eldest boys from a family of seven, born carpenter's sons in the wilds of New York's Catskill Mountains. Their long time friends Christmas Clapton and Greg Farley round out the group.

In February The Felice Brothers hit the road for a nine-date run with Old Crow Medicine Show, and continue on with headlining dates throughout the spring.  Highlights include a record release party at the Bardavan Opera House in Poughkeepsie, NY on April 7th, and a swing through Austin, TX for SXSW 2009.

Tracklisting for Yonder Is The Clock:

1. The Big Surprise
2. Penn Station
3. Buried In Ice
4. Chicken Wire
5. Ambulance Man
6. Sailor Song
7. Katie Dear
8. Run Chicken Run
9. All When We Were Young
10. Boy from Lawrence County
11. Memphis Flu
12. Cooperstown
13. Rise and Shine


2009 Tour Dates
* = w/ Old Crow Medicine Show

FEBRUARY 2009
--
05 - Johnson City, TN - Freedom Hall*
06 - Winston-Salem, NC - The Millenium Center*
07 - Chattanooga, TN - Tivoli Theatre*
08 - North Charleston, SC - North Charleston Performing Arts Center*
10 - Gainesville, FL - The Venue*
11 - Tampa, FL - Tampa Theatre*
13 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues*
14  - Oxford, MS - The Lyric Theatre*
15 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood*

MARCH 2009
--
13 - Rochester, NY - Water Street Music Hall
14 - Buffalo, NY - The Mohawk
15 - Nelsonville, OH - Stuart's Opera House
16 - Indianapolis, IN - Radio Radio

APRIL 2009
07 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Bardavan Opera House
09 - Boston, MA - The Paradise
10 - Albany, NY - Valentines
11 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
15 - Alexandria, VA - Birchmere Bandstand
16 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero Theatre
17 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
18 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street Nightclub
19 - Ringwood, NJ - New Legacy Concert Series at Ringwood Public Library
22 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls
24 - Louisville, KY - Headliner's
25 - Nashville, TN - The Mercy Lounge

JULY 2009
17 - Somerset, KY - Master Musicians Festival
25 - Floyd, VA - Floydfest

Doing the 10^th Avenue Freeze-Out... in Tennessee, in the middle of the summer... ouch... Tix on sale this Saturday.

By Blurt Staff

Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment are excited to announce the initial lineup for the 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The eighth annual four-day camping and music festival will be held on June 11 - 14 on the same beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. Every year Bonnaroo seeks to make history by offering unique and exclusive performances by rock's greatest legends as well as its most significant newcomers. A full list of confirmed acts follows, and more will be announced in the coming weeks. The final Bonnaroo 2009 lineup will total over 120 bands and over 20 comedians performing on 13 stages over four days. Tickets go on sale exclusively through www.bonnaroo.com on Saturday, February 7 at 12:00 PM Eastern.

Continuing the Bonnaroo tradition of diversity and dynamism, the 2009 lineup draws top-flight acts from a staggering range of musical worlds. This year the festival features Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Phish, the Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, TV on the Radio, Wilco, Al Green, David Byrne, Snoop Dogg, Merle Haggard, Animal Collective, Lucinda Williams, Femi Kuti, Mars Volta, Coheed and Cambria, The Del McCoury Band, Alejandro Escovedo and Rodrigo y Gabriela to name a few. This will be Springsteen and his band's only North American festival performance this year. This also will be Phish's only festival performance in 2009, and their presence at Bonnaroo holds a great deal of significance -- besides the fact that each of its members has shown the event great support, performing at the festival in various incarnations over the years, Phish's own festivals were notably one of the major inspirations for Bonnaroo's creation and operational strategies. Many of the organizers of those events (large scale, multi-day camping festivals with Phish as the solo performer) were brought on to help birth Bonnaroo in 2002, and continue to play a major role in the festival to this day. Phish will play two shows at the festival - a full two-set performance as well as an additional late-evening set.

As part of this initial Bonnaroo 2009 artist announcement, festival organizers have teamed up with Ghost Robot to create an innovative video that incorporates a new experimental process called stratostencil animation.   The video can be viewed at Bonnaroo.com and THIS LINK.



The largest and most revered music and camping event in the country, Bonnaroo has elevated the American rock festival to an unprecedented level. As the only round-the-clock major U.S. music festival, Bonnaroo packs an unparalleled amount of entertainment options into its four days. The event has offered its attendees the amenities and community spirit of a small city, with 24 hours of activities including a comedy theater, cinema festival, jazz club, silent disco, arcade, Internet cafés, restaurants, yoga classes and hundreds of high quality craft vendors. Since its inception, Bonnaroo swiftly earned its status as the country's premier music and arts event. According to the New York Times, "Bonnaroo has revolutionized the modern rock festival." The event is famous for the incredible energy that emerges from its crowds, who make the Bonnaroo pilgrimage to immerse themselves in its unique camping community and witness four days of historical music moments. Honoring the festival's unique spirit, Rolling Stone called Bonnaroo "one of the 50 moments to change the history of rock and roll." The festival was also just voted the Best Festival in the magazine's Readers' Poll, and won similar honors at this year's Billboard Music Awards.

This year, Bonnaroo has created a couple of unique ticketing options for its fans. The festival is now offering a special payment plan in which tickets will be available for five (5) payments of $50.00 plus applicable fees. In addition, fans will have the option to purchase a Bonnaroo Green Ticket that will help to support the development and implementation of sustainable improvements at the festival for years to come. Festival organizers are constantly looking for ways to be aggressive with mitigating the event's environmental impact and raising awareness about green issues.

As part of Fuse's three-year deal with Bonnaroo, the network will be the exclusive television partner of the festival.  It will continue to be the only place to watch Bonnaroo on national television and will include live on-air coverage as well as OnDemand and online content. On-air, Fuse will bring viewers live hits, backstage interviews, "Best of Bonnaroo" concert specials and a highlight show of this year's greatest performances.  The network will once again have their headquarters set up in its landmark barn in the middle of Centeroo, enabling them to bring the Fuse experience directly to fans onsite. Leading up to the event, Fuse will run four 60-second news packages that will air throughout the day on Tuesday, February 3rd, providing an insider's look at the 2009 Bonnaroo lineup. Online, at fuse.tv/bonnaroo fans can find essential information on tickets, further line-up additions and interviews from last year's festival.  

In addition, ATT Music will be hosting a live webcast of the event.  After the festival is over, you'll also be able to relive your experience with exclusive featured content only online at ATT Music.

 
Official festival website is www.bonnaroo.com

2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival Confirmed Artists:

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Phish (2 Shows)
Beastie Boys
Nine Inch Nails
David Byrne
Wilco
Al Green
Snoop Dogg
Elvis Costello Solo
Erykah Badu
Paul Oakenfold
Ben Harper and Relentless7    
The Mars Volta
TV on the Radio
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Gov't Mule
Andrew Bird
Band of Horses
Merle Haggard
MGMT
moe.
The Decemberists
Girl Talk
Bon Iver
Béla Fleck & Toumani Diabate
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Galactic
The Del McCoury Band
of Montreal
Allen Toussaint
Coheed and Cambria
Booker T & the DBTs
David Grisman Quintet
Lucinda Williams
Animal Collective
Gomez
Neko Case
Down
Jenny Lewis
Santogold
Robert Earl Keen
Citizen Cope
Femi Kuti and the Positive Force
The Ting Tings
Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Kaki King
Grizzly Bear
King Sunny Adé
Okkervil River
St. Vincent
Zac Brown Band
Raphael Saadiq
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Crystal Castles
Tift Merritt
Brett Dennen
Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Revue
Toubab Krewe
People Under the Stairs
Alejandro Escovedo
Vieux Farka Touré
Elvis Perkins In Dearland
Cherryholmes
Yeasayer
Todd Snider
Chairlift
Portugal. The Man.
The SteelDrivers
Midnite
The Knux
The Low Anthem
Delta Spirit
A.A. Bondy
The Lovell Sisters
Alberta Cross

More acts will be announced in the coming weeks.

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U2 rocks, while Kid Rock, uh, doesn’t. And then there’s Lil Wayne, Coldplay, Kanye, Sugarland, Sir Paul, Katy Perry….

By Scott Crawford

U2 start the night off with Bono and mates playing with a jumbotron flashing each line of lyrics to “Get On Your Boots’  as they’re sung—kind of like a hi-tech version of “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” Kind of.

Whitney Houston is the first presenter of the evening for best R&B Album. Hoping Al Green wins here. Is it me or is she over-enunciating like you do when you’re drunk and don’t want anyone else to know. Jennifer Hudson wins it.

Um, the Rock is the next presenter. Man those chompers of his are white. He makes creepy Katie Perry kissing jokes, Crickets are heard chirping somewhere in the aisles.

Al Green with Justin Timberlake doing “Let’s Stay Together.” Timberlake looks star-struck. He should be.

Chris Martin from Coldplay starts tinkling the first notes to “Lost” at a piano….Jay-Z appears! My god the sound is bad. Who the hell is mixing this broadcast? Jay-Z leaves and martin joins his bandmates for a rousing version of “Viva la Vida.”

Carrie Underwood is rocking out-fuck! Who’s that guitar player? She can rock it. Clearly, I need guitar lessons. I’m humbled.

Lee Ann Rimes and Sheryl Crow present the Grammy for best country performance. Sugarland win and proceed to thank everybody in the industry including um, Paul McCartney.

The use of Cat Power’s “Space Oddity” cover  for a Lincoln commercial is a highlight so far.

Duffy and AL Green announce the winner of the Song of the Year category (surprise!) Coldplay “Viva La Vida” …

Kid Rock-wait, is he getting socially conscious on us? Where’s the wifebeater and the beer?  Kid Rock goes heartland rock with “Amen.” Then breaks into Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and references Billy Powell. Have to admit it, the band kinda rocks—even if the soundman doesn’t. 

Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus together for the first time! Miley needs to dial down the dramatic gestures. Swift is playing it perfectly. Great poise.

Best Pop Collaboration: Plant and Krauss as winners are no surprise here.  Krauss looks smashing. Plant looks like Plant—meaning he looks great (80s perm and all). Krauss remains silent while Plant accepts the award. It feels like they might sweep tonight.

Jennifer Hudson performance. What a voice. What a choir.

Stevie Wonder with a talkbox kicks off the Jonas Brothers set and plays throughout. Certainly not lacking in energy (or screaming fans) the Brothers finish up with a painfully vanilla version of Wonder’s “Superstition.” 

Blink 182 take the opportunity to announce that “they’re back”  as they read “Best  Rock Album” nominees. Coldplay win (again). What’s up with the Sgt. Peppers garb? And Chris Martin says “he’s hoping to not tear up”. Thankfully, he doesn’t.

Nominee Katy Perry stumbles through her nauseating “I Kissed a Girl” hit. While she must’ve sung this number a million times, Perry  looks more like an awkward teenager singing along and making her own YouTube video. Hey, I’m no choreographer, but are your backup dancers supposed to show you up? Looking like part (way) off-the-strip Vegas show and Britney at the 2008 MTV Awards, Perry might wanna go back to bible class. Mercy.

Kanye rocks it (with a Rockefeller-style trim) and introduces the Best New Artist and Adele wins it. She thanks fellow nominees Duffy and the Jonas Brothers (while rolling her eyes). Crowd laughs. So do I.

Morgan Freeman introduces “his friend” Kenny Chesney who proceeds to play. Yes, he’s wearing The Hat.

Record of the Year introduced by Natalie Cole by Sean Combs and Herbie Hancock. Plant and Krauss win again. Hey there’s T-Bone. Will Krauss speak? Nope, Plant hands the mike to Burnett whose response is short and sweet. Can you say awkward? I just did. Man, I wanted MIA to win this one.

Queen Latifah presents the “Lifetime Achievement Award to Dean Martin. She introduces the “Rap Pack” while a VERY pregnant MIA (in a Minnie-Mouse getup) starts off the montage “Swagger” followed  By Kanye, Jay Z, TI, and Lil’ Wayne. It’s a minor miracle MIA’s water didn’t break—her hips were on fire.

Actress Kate Beckinsale introduces Sir Paul McCartney. He proceeds to blow through “I Saw Her Standing There” with his Hofner bass (and Dave Grohl behind the drumkit) in hand. Not bad. Not exactly inspired either.

Jack Black and his father-in-law Charlie Haden walk out together to present the best Male Pop vocal. Award goes to John Mayer . Ooph.

Sugarland and Adele are next up on the roster. Singer belongs on American Idol. That’s not necessarily a dis (though it my book it is). Adele and Sugarland share the stage and tradeoff vocal histrionics. Snore.

Gwyneth Paltrow introduces the one and only Radiohead. The curtains come up to reveal the band and a monstrous orchestra—including at least a half a dozen drummers. Yorke cavorts around the stage in what could arguably be the most avant number the Grammys have ever televised.

Baritone throated-phenom Josh Groban introduces Neil Diamond who waltzes through “Sweet Caroline” to a fairly responsive audience.

The tributes: I love this part. Always gets the lump in the throat all excited.  Hey, I didn’t know Larry “The Father of Christian Rock” Norman died…

Sorry, I know John Mayer now spends more time trying to prove what a shredder he is than trying to shack up with paparazzi-obsessed starlets, but his continual need to share the stage with established blues players like BB King (and Keith Urban?!) just plain grates.

Lil Wayne pays tribute to Hurricane Katrina victims with Robin Thicke. Nice Alan Toussaint and Terence Blanchard appearance at the end. Thicke should’ve stayed home…

Lil Wayne wins best Hip Hop Award for “Tha Carter III.”

The lovely Zooey Deschanel comes and introduces Plant and Krauss. Plant still has the moves. They win for Album of the Year.  

Portent of things to come this festival season?

By Fred Mills

This year's Langerado bash down in Florida, March 6-8, has been cancelled. "Sluggish ticket sales" was cited as the reason, according to a post at the Langerado site. Read the full post, below.

It's a shame, as the lineup - which included among the headliners Death Cab For Cutie Snoop Dogg and Ryan Adams And The Cardinals - was pretty solid, if not quite as amazing as in previous years. But the writing, perhaps, was on the wall beginning last year when a number of major festivals failed to sell out as they had previously; a number of industry watchers had predicted we'd soon reach festival saturation point, and that's what appeared to be happening in 2008.

So it will be interesting to see whether or not this is an anomaly or the start of a trend as the festival season gets underway. As one wag put it last summer, "How many times can you go to a festival and sit through a Jack Johnson set anyway?"

It's worth noting, too, that prefacing the moving forth with a festival solely on the basis of advance ticket sales is a serious case of building a house made out of cards. I realize that often the early ticket revenue helps pay bills, artist advance fees, and more, but years ago, most concerts were walk-up events where the bulk of sales took place on day-of-show, and promoters did just fine (while taking the occasional bath). Of course, if you can rake in a zillion advance dollars and bank that to draw some interest, if only for a brief time... well... you can see the additional motivation for the emphasis on advance sales. Like I said, a house of cards....

***

Feb 3, 2009

The 2009 Langerado Music Festival has been cancelled due to sluggish ticket sales.

Langerado's independent local promoters, faced with a very tough decision in a dismal economy, cancelled the 2009 event only after every possible option was exhausted.

As Langerado Co-Promoter Ethan Schwartz explains, "Langerado has always put the fan experience first. Unfortunately, during these difficult economic times, and facing a first year in a new venue, it's become apparent that we cannot execute a production that lives up to the high standards of our past events. Putting Langerado on hold was the toughest decision we have ever had to make. We are very grateful for the support of the greater-Miami community and the music community during this difficult time."

All tickets purchased will be refunded. Please look for ticket refunds to be processed in the next 5-7 business days. Each order will be refunded to the credit card in full, minus the included order processing fees. Shipping fees will also be credited for those orders that did not select the free shipping promotion. For information on ticket refunds please contact Music Today www.musictoday.com

Captures the Craig Finn crew in full flight in '08, plus some cool bonus studio material.

By Blurt Staff

Vagrant Records has announced an April 7 release date for A Positive Rage, a double disc package from the Hold Steady featuring a documentary on DVD and their first-ever live album. (The set will be released on April 6 on Rough Trade Records in the UK and Europe.)

A Positive Rage captures the excitement and high spirits of both the band and their fans in the days surrounding the release of their third full-length, Boys and Girls in America, (Vagrant) and ensuing world tour in 2006.

The 53-minute documentary begins with The Hold Steady's first ever London performances with never-before-seen live footage, back stage interviews with the band members, fan commentary and the original, raw audio. Cameras follow the band as they return to the US for a 24-date tour that culminates on screen with an especially poignant performance at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

The live album was recorded on October 31, 2007 and includes seventeen songs that Craig Finn, Tad Kubler, Galen Polivka, Franz Nicolay, and Bobby Drake performed on the second of their two-night sold-out stand at the Metro in Chicago. The enhanced album will also feature five bonus studio tracks: "Ask Her For Adderall," "Cheyenne Sunrise," "Two Handed Handshake," and the previously unreleased tracks "Spectres" and "40 Bucks."

The booklet features personal photos and the band's memories of the tour, including this excerpt from Craig Finn... "It ended up being a fantastic suburban blow out with band and audience on the floor, Frisbee and tailgating in the adjoining parking lot, and everyone singing along to every song.... It reminded me of the hardcore shows I loved as a kid, everyone sweating and screaming together in a rented hall. And drinking in the parking lot, of course. The next night worlds converged.... "

A Positive Rage track listing:

1. Intro
2. Stuck Between Stations
3. The Swish
4. Chips Ahoy!
5. Massive Nights
6. Ask Her For Adderall
7. Barfruit Blues
8. Same Kooks
9. You Gotta Dance (With Who You Came With)
10. Lord, I'm Discouraged
11. You Can Make Him Like You
12. Your Little Hoodrat Friend
13. Southtown Girls
14. Citrus
15. First Night
16. Girls Like Status
17. Killer Parities


THE HOLD STEADY on tour:

Feb 4 - Sydney, AUS @ The Metro Theatre
Feb 6 - Perth, AUS @ Laneway Festival
Feb 7 - Adelaide, AUS @ Laneway Festival
Feb 8 - Sydney, AUS @ Laneway Festival
Mar 31 - Albany, NY @ Valentine's
Apr 1 - Buffalo, NY @ Tralf Music Hall
Apr 2 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Calvin College Fine Arts Center
Apr 3 - Urbana, IL @ Illini Courtyard Café
Apr 4 - Bloomington, IN @ Jake's Nightclub
Apr 6 - St. Louis, MO @ Gargoyle
Apr 7 - Iowa City, IA @ The Picador
Apr 8 - Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Apr 10 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
Apr 11 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Urban Lounge
Apr 13 - Las Vegas, NV @ Beauty Bar
Apr 14 - Stateline, NV @ Harrah's Tahoe South Shore Room
Apr 17 - Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Apr 15 - Sacramento, CA @ Harlow's
May 10 - Glasgow, UK @ SECC #
May 11 - Manchester, UK @ Manchester Evening News Arena #
May 13 - Birmingham, UK @ NIA #
May 14 - London, UK @ Wembley Arena #
May 16 - Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff Arena #
May 18 - Bournemouth, UK @ BIC #
May 19 - Nottingham, UK @ Royal Centre #
May 21 - Brixton, UK @ Academy #
May 30 - Hunter Mountain, NY @ Mountain Jam
# - supporting Counting Crows

Legendary guitarist and British folk pioneer passes on Jan. 29.

By Fred Mills

"With heavy heart and an unbearable sense of loss we must announce that John died this morning." - www.johnmartyn.com

Heavy heart indeed. Less than a month into 2009, the world lost another guitar giant when avant-folk pioneer John Martyn died last week, on Jan. 29, at the age of 60 (the Stooges' Ron Asheton passed away on Jan. 6). Ironically, his death - the cause of which has not yet been released - came on the heels of Martyn receiving an Order of the British Empire honor in early January. He'd also gotten a lifetime achievement honor last year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, and this past September saw the release of the career-spanning Ain't No Saint box set.

For those unfamiliar with Martyn and his work, he was a fixture on the mid ‘60s London folk scene and debuted in 1967 with the London Conversation album. He soon became one of the flagship artists on Island Records. His '73 LP Solid Air brought him to international prominence, displaying in equal measures his big-lunged vocals and his unique guitar style, which frequently incorporated a mind-warping Echoplex effect that marked him as much "psychedelic" as "folkie." Many of the usual Island Records (and Fairport Convention and Traffic) studio suspects appeared on his albums - among them, guitarists Richard Thompson, bassists Danny Thompson and Dave Pegg, drummer Dave Mattacks, keyboardists Steve Winwood and Rabbit Bundrick - while over the years he collaborated with numerous other peers and admirers including Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Phil Collins and Levon Helms. His final studio album was 2004's On the Cobbles featuring guest appearances by Paul Weller, Mavis Staples and the Verve's Nick McCabe.

"Every record I've made - bad, good, or indifferent - is totally autobiographical," Martyn wrote once for his website. "I can look back when I hear a record and recall exactly what was going on. That's how I write. That's the only way I can write ! Some people keep diaries, I make records."

Said Collins, also a close friend, to the BBC, "John's passing is terribly, terribly sad. I had worked with and known him since the late 1970s and he was a great friend. He was uncompromising, which made him infuriating to some people, but he was unique and we'll never see the likes of him again. I loved him dearly and will miss him very much."

Over the years Martyn had had his struggles with drugs and booze, and in 2003 his right leg had to be amputated following a cyst burst, leaving him to perform in a wheelchair. But perform he did up until the very end.

***

To add a personal note, I'll never forget seeing Martyn play twice in 1974 when he opened for Yes on their North American Tales from Topographic Oceans tour. His solo set mostly comprised material from Solid Air and its followup, Inside Out, and the man was in full flight from start to finish, shaking his long, curly locks manically at times as he stomped his foot and mauled his acoustic guitar - this from a guy forced to stare down an audience that was obviously there for the headliners and largely ignorant of who he was.

Not me and my friends, though; we already knew his albums. And when Martyn grinned evilly, triggered his Echoplex, and cocked his head back to emit a massive room-clearing wail, it was as if someone had collectively slapped the audience senseless, such were the looks of shock on the faces of the stunned Yes devotees around us.

Something tells me that Martyn probably got a perverse pleasure out of that. If there's any justice in the world, anybody who saw him on that Yes tour, regardless of whether or not they were Martyn fans, will remember his performances and how utterly unique, how perfectly primal, he was, and for a much longer time than they remember any of the Yes material.

Rest in peace, you gifted sonofabitch, you.

Watch for a tribute to Martyn in the inaugural print edition of BLURT, coming in March.

[Photo Credit: Paul Reid/JohnMartyn.com]

Lots of photos of beards, no doubt....

By Blurt Staff

Devendra Banhart fans, mark your calendars for May 20: that's when acclaimed photographer Lauren Dukoff has her Banhart-centric book Family published by Chronicle. As noted in the publisher's info, below, the 9x11, 192 page volume features images of all the usual suspects who are part of the extended Banhart family: Joanna Newsom, Feathers, Bat For Lashes, Espers, Vetiver, Vashti Bunyan, Bert Jansch and others.

The L.A.-based Dukoff, sharp-minded readers may recall, shot an eye-popping, cross-dressing Banhart for our cover story on the songwriter back when we were known as Harp magazine...

The book will sell for $35 and is available for preorder from the Chronicle website.

***

From the publisher:

For many years, Lauren Dukoff has been photographing close friend and musician Devendra Banhart and an extended, loose-knit international family of artists who share inspiration variously from folk, Tropicalia, and each other, as well as a range of other musical influences. This lovely hardcover album collects Dukoff's striking portraits and candid images of Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Bat for Lashes, Feathers, Espers, Vetiver, Bert Jansch, Vashti Bunyan, and many others individually and together, in performance and more private spaces. The 150 full-bleed, color and black and white photographs are complemented by a foreword by Banhart, text and artwork by the musicians, artist biographies, and a digital download featuring songs by some of the artists in the book.

Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill artists to get props this Friday... expect the usual backlash, of course...

By Fred Mills

For the past five years our good friends over at the Raleigh, NC, daily newspaper The News & Observer have been sponsoring their "Eight Great Local Acts" blowout in which they spotlight eight (duh) deserving bands from the Triangle - Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill - and give ‘em their due. The intention, of course, is to help draw attention to the toppermost of the poppermost, and anyone who's ever lived in the Triangle area will tell ya, there's a lot of damn talent lurking on the various college campuses, haunting the Comboland clubs and shacking up in the wilds of Chatham County. (The latter was where, each summer, yours truly harvested some positively primo bud during my 1974-83 Triangle tenure... but I digress.)

 In the past, the N&O's calls have been pretty dead on. Among the picks that clicked: Rosebuds and Valient Thorr before anybody heard of them; Jason Michael Carroll, who later hit #1 on the country charts after he got his record deal; a bluegrass band that went on to get a gold record in Norway, of all places (Chatham County Line); and a few last year that subsequently became semi-large buzz bands (Bowerbirds, Bon Iver associates Megafaun).

As N&O pop critic (and BLURT contributor) David Menconi puts it, they're awfully proud of the whole deal, and it's also a true "labor of love for [a number of people] that put in their own time to get it done, especially the photographers and multi-media people."

Ah, multimedia: this year's eight picks will be unveiled in the newspaper this Friday, Feb. 6, so plan on pointing your browsers to www.newsobserver.com/great8  later this week. While you wait, you can also view a thrill-a-moment trailer for the event elsewhere on the site. The sights! The sounds! The furies! See if you can figure out from the clip who the eight bands are...

There will be a slew of online content at the papers site, including live performance clips, "where are they now?" updates on the previous five years' picks, and more. Also, there will be a "Great Eight" show the following Friday, lucky Feb. 13, at Chapel Hill's Local 506 venue.

Meanwhile, what would a local-scene awards/honors-type thing be without some local controversy to boot? Go HERE to catch up on all that... another one of the alternative weekly versus the daily paper pissing matches, natch. The reader comments after the editorial are priceless, although someone should have added that with all that's been going on in the print media world, the dailies and the weeklies are essentially interchangeable nowadays, unlike, say, ten or even five years ago. Plus the fact that ANY coverage of local artists - extensive, subjective, whatever - is a good thing no matter from what corner it comes.

Willie Nelson?!?

By Blurt Staff

The Kills announce a 22-date US tour, beginning in Indio, CA at the Coachella Arts and Music Festival on April 19th.  Midnight Boom, the band's 3rd full length album was released last year on Domino Records to wide critical acclaim. Stunning sets at SXSW, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and tours with The Raconteurs and The Black Keys, have made The Kills one of the must see live acts of the past year.

The Kills will release a new EP, entitled Black Balloon on April 14 (March 23 rest of world, on Domino everywhere), including the track from Midnight Boom as well as brand new acoustic tracks. In typical Kills fashion, the new video for "Black Balloon," directed by Kenneth Cappello, is another beautiful art piece incorporating exclusive backstage and tour footage shot in Super 8.  (View the video below.)

The new EP follows up January's iTunes Live Sessions EP, recorded at the end of the band's fall tour at Electric Lady Studio in NYC, which features live versions of "Sour Cherry" and "Getting Down,", acoustic versions of "Pull a U" and "Kissy Kissy" and a cover version of Willie Nelson's "Crazy."

Special guest on all North American dates will be The Horrors, with Magic Wands opening on what will be the hottest tour of the spring.

Tour Dates:

* the Horrors

# Magic Wands

3/14/09                         Dusseldorf, Germany @ Zakk

3/15/09                         Hamburg, Germany @ Ubel & Gefahrlich

3/16/09                         Berlin, Germany @ Postbahnhof

3/17/09                         Frankfurt, Germany @ Mousonturm

3/25/09                         Auckland, NZ @ Transmission Room

3/26/09                         Wellington, NZ @ SFBH

3/28/09                         Sydney, Australia @ V Festival

3/29/09                         Queensland, Australia @ V Festival

4/4/09                           Victoria, Australia @ V Festival

4/5/09                           Claremont, Australia @ V Festival

4/19/09                         Indio, CA @ Coachella Arts and Music Festival

4/20/09                        Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress *#

4/22/09                         Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater *#

4/23/09                         Lawrence, @ KS Bottleneck *#

4/24/09                         Austin, TX @ Emo's *#

4/25/09                         Dallas, TX @ Granada *#

4/27/09                         Atlanta, GA @ Lenny's *#

4/28/09                         Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle *#

4/30/09                         Washington, DC @ 930 Club *#

5/1/09                           Philadelphia, PA @ TLA *#

5/2/09                          New York, NY @ Webster Hall *#

5/4/09                          Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg *#

5/5/09                          Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *#

5/6/09                          Montreal, Canada @ La Tulipe *#

5/7/09                          Toronto, Canada @ Phoenix *#

5/8/09                          Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick *#

5/9/09                          Chicago, IL @ Metro *#

5/11/09                         Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave *#

5/15/09                        Seattle, WA @ Neumo's *#

5/16/09                        Vancouver, Canada @ Commodore *#

5/17/09                        Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom *#

5/19/09                        San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *#

5/21/09                        Pomona, CA @ Glass House *#

Performing new album in its entirety at the NPR Music showcase at Stubbs... start lining up for the cattle call now, attendees!

By Blurt Staff

NPR Music will present a South by Southwest showcase headlined by The Decemberists at Stubbs on Wednesday, March 18, kicking off the opening night of this year's SXSW Music Conference and Festival in Austin, TX.  The concert will mark the Portland-based band's first live performance of its forthcoming album The Hazards of Love, which The Decemberists will debut in its entirety.  Additional bands in the lineup, and NPR Music's complete schedule of events at SXSW 2009, are to be announced.

Following the popularity of its concerts and on-air and online coverage at SXSW last year, NPR Music will live webcast and broadcast the entire concert.  The concert will be streamed live, podcast and archived at www.NPR.org/music, and will be available for broadcast on NPR Member stations across the country.  As in years past, NPR Music is partnering with five NPR Member stations - KUT Austin, WFUV New York, WXPN Philadelphia, KEXP Seattle and The Current from Minnesota Public Radio - to offer extensive coverage of the influential music festival on-air and online.

At SXSW, The Decemberists will perform all 17 songs from The Hazards of Love in sequence -how the band intends for the record to be heard.  The Hazards of Love, out March 24 from Capitol Records, is the follow up to the quintet's 2006 breakthrough The Crane Wife, and augments the band's standing as one of the most creative forces in music.  This album tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, immoral rake.  Joining The Decemberists members Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query and John Moen on stage at Stubbs will be Lavendar Diamond's Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden, who lend leading vocals to the album.

NPR Music's broadcast and webcast of the concert will be anchored by Bob Boilen, host and creator of the popular show All Songs Considered and its Live in Concert series. Joining Bob will be NPR Music blogger Carrie Brownstein and David Brown, host of Austin Music Unlimited on KUT in Austin.  "Usually, you go to a concert to hear your favorite band perform your favorite songs, but this 17 song journey will be a completely new to the audience," says Bob Boilen.  "It's going to be so much fun to see everyone experience this absolutely epic and fun song cycle performed live for the first time."  Boilen announced the SXSW show on today's episode of All Songs Considered, which features a track - "The Rake's Song" - off The Hazards of Love.  The All Songs episode is available at: www.NPR.org/allsongs

Last year, NPR Music and the five stations live webcast and broadcast 14 of the most anticipated concerts from SXSW, among them R.E.M., My Morning Jacket and Vampire Weekend.  NPR Music's daytime concert at The Parish was one of the festival's must-hears, with headliners Vampire Weekend joined by Bon Iver, Yeasayer, The Shout Out Louds, Jens Lekman and A.A. Bondy.  Those concerts, along with artist interviews and live audio and video performance sessions, are archived at: www.NPR.org/sxsw

Run on Irish beer expected too.

By Blurt Staff

Kicking off with a high profile appearance March 7^th at Miami's Langerado Festival, the Pogues embark on a regional U.S. tour next month. One of music's most raucous and entertaining live acts, the Pogues, with frontman Shane MacGowan, will play multiple, already-sold-out shows in the northeast, with additional dates added due to overwhelming demand.

The band Rolling Stone calls, "the musical equivalent of a pub crawl," the Pogues have staggered through a career that has secured their position as an enduring and beloved band. The Pogues are known for drawing crowds, loyalists, notables and fellow musicians to their sold-out shows. Formed in London in 1982, the Pogues blended traditional Irish music with a punk ethic.  The Pogues are Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy, Phil Chevron, James Fearnley, Terry Woods, Jem Finer, Andrew Ranken and Darryl Hunt.

Read our history of the Pogues HERE.

Pogues U.S. Tour Dates:

March 7          Miami, FL                  Langerado Festival        

March 9          Atlanta, GA               Tabernacle

March 12        New York                  Roseland

March 13        New York                  Roseland

March 14        New York                  Roseland

March 16        Washington, DC        9:30 Club

March 17        Washington, DC        9:30 Club

March 18        Washington, DC        9:30 Club

March 20        Boston, MA               House of Blues

March 21        Boston, MA               House of Blues

Founders Jordan and Loney haven't played together since 1971.

By Blurt Staff

Considering some of the baggage, it ranks as one of the most unlikely reunions to come down the pike, but there ya go: the legendary Flamin' Groovies are set to get back together at this year's Ponderosa Stomp. Well, at least it will be Groovies founders Cyril Jordan and Roy Loney, who plan to get onstage together for the first time since 1971 with the mighty A-Bones backing them up.

The Groovies originally formed in San Francisco in the late ‘60s, specializing in a unique brand of roots-tinged pop ‘n' psych and eventually moving into more hard-edged, Stones-styled territory as epitomized by their classic tune "Teenage Head." After Loney left to go solo, Jordan continued to helm the band, along with new vocalist Chris Wilson, through their Sire Records era (c.f. Shake Some Action) and beyond, eventually with a revolving cast of players. More recently Jordan has been seen playing with Bay Area band Magic Christian, while Loney's continued to front a series of hard-twanging, at times rockabilly flavored outfits such as the Phantom Movers and Roy Loney and the Longshots.

Each man can justifiably claim a little corner of rock ‘n' roll history for himself, but for longtime Groovies acolytes, the chance to see them performing again should prove irresistible.. So this year surely one of the highlights of the 8th annual Ponderosa Stomp - April 28 and 29 at the House of Blues in New Orleans - will be the reunion of Jordan and Loney. As the Stomp organizers put it, they "took the concept of greasy, good-time, high energy rock & roll to its face-melting limits, and created a template for countless underground American bands in the process... Their performance is the latest example of what has become a P-Stomp tradition of reuniting legendary, unsung musicians who haven't performed together - or sometimes even spoken - in decades."

About this year's Stomp:

Tickets will go on sale February 7th. Tickets will be available for purchase at: HouseOfBlues.com, Ticketmaster.com, LiveNation.com and the House of Blues New Orleans' Box Office. Tickets are $50 a night. 

The full 2009 lineup:

Wanda Jackson, Roddy Jackson, Alton Lott, Carl Mann, Johnny Powers, Jack Earls, Dale Hawkins, James Burton, Dan Penn And Bobby Emmons, Howard Tate, Otis Clay, The Hi Rhythm Section, The Remains, Question Mark And The Mysterians, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Bobby Patterson, Wiley And The Checkmates, The Bo-Keys, Lil Buck Senegal And The Top Cats Featuring Stanley "Buckwheat Zydeco" Dural, Dennis Coffey, RobertParker, Jivin Gene, Ray Sharpe, Long John Hunter, Texas Johnny Brown, Little Joe Washington, James Blood Ulmer Trio, L.C. Ulmer, Little Willie Littlefield, Lil Greenwood, Jerry McCain, Kenny And The Kasuals, Classie Ballou, Deke Dickerson And The Eccofonics, Roy Loney And Cyril Jordan Of The Flamin Groovies Backed By The A-Bones, Lazy Lester

About the Ponderosa Stomp Foundation (more info:

http://www.ponderosastompfoundation.org):

The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation (PSF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating the legacy, revitalizing the careers and preserving the history of the architects of American music. With many of these unsung heroes aging,  it is essential to honor and capture their pioneering cultural contributions for generations to come. The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation achieves its mission through the presentation of unique and varied programming, ranging from music education initiatives in public schools and museums to an oral history project to the signature annual concert event, The Ponderosa Stomp. The Foundation is a 501(c) (3), not-for-profit organization.

Er, you don't really think the band's obsessive fans will adhere to that "one item" caveat, do you?

By Blurt Staff

Throbbing Gristle announce their first US performances in 28 years - including an appearance Sunday April 19th at the 2009 Coachella Music Festival! The band, who have not performed in the United States since May 1981, will also be playing Chicago and New York for the first time ever.

To mark these special occasions, the band will play TWO SET events in New York and Chicago. The performances begin with a new live soundtrack to Derek Jarman's 60min 1980 alchemical film "In The Shadow Of The Sun," followed by a second set of material from across TG's history.

Between sets in both New York and Chicago, Throbbing Gristle will be available for a fan signing session. Fans are encouraged to bring along ONE ITEM from their collection for the band to sign. There will also be special 'TG USA 2009' merchandise including an all new album, T-shirt specific to the event, Tour Enamel Badge, and Tour Embroidered Patch for sale.

In addition, Throbbing Gristle will perform their live soundtrack to Derek Jarman's 60min 1980 alchemical film "In The Shadow Of The Sun" at UCLA in Los Angeles on April 21st and a full set of material from across their history at The Grand Regency Ballroom in San Francisco on April 23rd.

Dates:

4/16/09    Masonic Hall                               Brooklyn, New York
4/19/09    Coachella                                    Indio, Ca
4/21/09    Ucla                                                Los Angeles, Ca**
4/23/09    Grand Regency Ballroom        San Francisco, Ca
4/25/09    Ephiphany Episcopal                  Chicago, Il

**"In The Shadow Of The Sun" soundtrack performance only.  

The Backstory:

Throbbing Gristle - Chris Carter, Peter Christopherson, Genesis Breyer-P.Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti - formed in 1975 and released a string of albums until 1981 including The Second Annual Report, 20 Jazz Funk Greats and the legendary 24 Hours Cassette Boxed Set (reissued as TG24 on CD by the Grey Area of Mute in 2002 and followed by the companion box set TG+ in 2004). Unlike many of their punk peers, Throbbing Gristle deployed their music as a weapon attacking the apparatus of the music industry, which they treated as the propaganda wing of the then growing entertainment industry. TG set up their own imprint, Industrial Records (giving rise to the term "industrial music"), for the distribution of their clanging factory noises and as a cold parody of the entertainment industry's process of industrializing music.

In 2007 Throbbing Gristle released their first new studio album in over 25 years, Part Two - The Endless Not which was followed later that year by TGV, a live DVD box set featuring 10 full shows - most never-before-seen - ranging from the fascinating beginnings in 1979 through to the notorious RE~TG ‘re-grouping' 23 years later at London's Astoria and three further European shows.

2008 saw the reactivation of Industrial Records and the release of Thirty-Second Annual Report, a reinterpretation of The Second Annual Report recorded at La Villette in Paris, 30 years after its original release and available on download and as a special edition vinyl, pre-framed and limited to 777 copies.

Throbbing Gristle have troubled eardrums, shattered preconceptions and changed lives. The repercussions of their sonic, ideological and industrial experiments are still being felt today.

***

Meanwhile, read our recent interview with Genesis P-Orridge HERE....

Subject header says it all..."Out of a seemingly unlikely collaboration, comes an instantly familiar sound which defies genre's and pushes the envelope of sound."

By Blurt Staff

Honestly, we couldn't make this stuff up.

***

The eagerly anticipated 3^rd solo record from Chris Cornell, entitled Scream, will be released this Spring, on March 10^th, via Interscope Records. Best known as the acclaimed lead singer and songwriter for Soundgarden and Audioslave, Cornell and producer Timbaland have created a 13-track, inventive new work which looks to spearhead a brave new world of cross-genre collaboration.

The two artists were introduced at the suggestion that Timbaland create remixes for Cornell's 2007 solo album, Carry On. Not content to merely remix a few songs, Timbaland proposed that they record an entire album. Work began in early 2008 in Miami, and 5 tracks from the album are already creating a buzz on the internet and on radio, including "Scream," "Part Of Me" "Long Gone" and "Watch Out."

Scream is a seamless work. Timbaland makes inventive use of Cornell's soaring melodies and incisive lyrics, setting his intense vocal performances against a lush, expressive soundscape and irresistible stutter-step beats. Like so many genre-busting musical innovations of the past -- including David Bowie's disco collaboration with Nile Rodgers, "Let's Dance" - Scream is a testament to Cornell's ever evolving musicianship and artistry.

A musical tour de force, Scream's album opener "Part of Me" acts as the smash club hit on the record and "Long Gone" showcases Chris's stunning vocals and emotive melodies. Despite its varying moods, the album is a cohesive collection of songs produced by two of the most acclaimed American hit-makers on the music sphere today. As Cornell recently told veteran rock journalist Matt Pinfield, "If you get into a kind of comfortable corner, where you're doing what you're used to, you can get locked in that corner and stuck there, and you're done. That's never going to happen to me." Cornell says, "The whole album is a pretty radical musical departure for me. It is the highlight of my career."

Currently residing in Paris and Los Angeles, Chris Cornell has been heralded as the chief architect for grunge, writing a string of hits for Soundgarden, including the Grammy Award-winning "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman," After recording  the last album with Soundgarden, Cornell continued to shine as a critically acclaimed solo artist. "Can't Change Me," the first single from his 1999 solo debut Euphoria Morning, was nominated for a Grammy Award, while a reworked version of "Mission" was included on the soundtrack to the film Mission: Impossible II. In 2000, Cornell put his solo career on hold to join former Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk in Audioslave. In 2006, Cornell co-wrote and performed the theme song for the James Bond film Casino Royale, entitled "You Know My Name." Cornell is the only American male solo artist to date who has ever been commissioned to write the theme song for the Bond franchise.

Out of a seemingly unlikely collaboration, comes an instantly familiar sound which defies genre's and pushes the envelope of sound.

Neko Case's favorite band in a mouth watering collaboration with the X legend.

By Blurt Staff

John Doe and The Sadies join forces for Country Club, an album of classic country covers and originals due out April 14, on Yep Roc Records.

"Country Club is the result of a drunken promise or threat I made to Travis & Dallas [Good, of The Sadies] the first night we played together in Toronto. These happen all the time but it's rare that anyone remembers them the morning after, let alone follows through and makes it a reality. I'm really glad we did," says X, Knitters and solo artist John Doe about the series of events that led to his new project with cosmic roots rockers The Sadies.

By including varying yet equally beloved movements within the country music pantheon, Doe and The Sadies were able to cover their heroes while filtering the pop sensibilities of 60s Nashville through the electric honky tonk of Bakersfield, CA.

Doe remarks, "We're not sure why it sounds like it's from the sixties. Maybe that's our favorite era of country music or maybe that's what we listened to when we first learned how to play it. But what was called ‘Countrypolitan' always seemed one of the coolest hybrids of country music.  But we agreed quickly & completely that there were going to be no string sections, horns or choirs.  Bakersfield vs. Nashville was never a dispute . . . Bakersfield!" Dallas Good of The Sadies continues, "The songs chosen were very ambitious, and while we haven't re-invented the wheel we have created a cohesiveness between several hit country & western singles and our own styles."

Despite the innovation of melding the sounds of Nashville and Bakersfield, timeless sounds abound on Country Club. All of it  driven by Doe's singular vocals, the dueling thousand pound chops of the guitar-wielding Good brothers and The Sadies' world class rhythm section of Mike Belitsky and Sean Dean.

On Country Club, classic tunes by Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings stand alongside late-night ballads by Tammy Wynette and Roger Miller. The album also features four originals - three from The Sadies and one courtesy of X songwriting duo John Doe and Exene Cervenka. John Doe and The Sadies have found the perfect blend of the reverent and the experimental, resulting in a slightly psychedelic brew that just might pass for straight if you're not lookin'.

Tracklist & Credits:

1) Stop the World and Let Me Off

Songwriter: Carl Belew

Made famous by: Waylon Jennings

Veronica Jane Doe - vocals

2) Husbands and Wives

Songwriter: Roger Miller

D.J. Bonebrake - vibraphones

Margaret Good - vocals

Eric Heywood - pedal steel

3) ‘Til I Get It Right

Songwriters: Red Lane, Larry Henley

Made famous by: Tammy Wynette

D.J. Bonebrake - vibraphones

Eric Heywood - pedal steel

4) It Just Dawned on Me

Songwriters: Exene Cervenka, John Doe

Kathleen Edwards - vocals

5) (Now and Then) There's a Fool Such as I

Songwriter: William Marvin Trader

Made famous by: Hank Snow

Eric Heywood - pedal steel

Cindy Wasserman - vocals

6) The Night Life

Songwriters: Paul F. Buskirk, Walter M. Breeland, Willie Nelson

Made famous by: Ray Price

D.J. Bonebrake - vibraphones

Eric Heywood - pedal steel

7) The Sudbury Nickel

Songwriters: The Sadies

8) Before I Wake

Songwriters: The Sadies

Bob Egan - pedal steel

Margaret Good - vocals

Bruce Good - autoharp

9) I Still Miss Someone

Songwriters: Johnny Cash, Roy Cash Jr.

Bruce Good - autoharp

10) The Cold Hard Facts of Life

Songwriter: Bill Anderson

Made famous by: Porter Wagoner

Eric Heywood - pedal steel

11) Take These Chains from My Heart

Songwriter: Fred Rose, Hy Heath

Made famous by: Hank Williams

D.J. Bonebrake - vibraphones

Margaret Good - vocals

Eric Heywood - pedal steel

Cindy Wasserman - vocals

12) Help Me Make It Through the Night

Songwriter: Kris Kristofferson

13) Are the Good Times Really Over for Good

Songwriter: Merle Haggard

Kathleen Edwards - vocals

14) Detroit City

Songwriters: Danny Dill, Mel Tillis

Made famous by: Bobby Bare

15) Pink Mountain Rag

Songwriters: The Sadies

Bob Egan - pedal steel

You know you wanna sing it out loud... "867-5309"... $20,000 worth, in fact.

By Fred Mills

Say it ain't so, Tom! How could you betray Jenny!

hat's right: Tommy Tutone has up on eBay his "Official 867-5309 & Business" - for a smooth $20,000 bucks. Say what?

Go to THIS EBAY AUCTION and, indeed, you'll see an auction for that amount - no reserve, which seems risky, particularly since there are no bids as of this writing, and the auction is to end just four days from now, on Feb. 10. Of course, we are in a recession, so check out the item description and decide for yourself if this is a good value or not...

We are not making this up.

Incidentally, 10% of the final sale will go to the Love-A-Stray Animal Rescue folks.

***

The REAL DEAL from the man who dialed in the WORLDS MOST FAMOUS phone number "867-5309 Jenny". Tommy Tutone's only number 515-867-5309 is included as part of Tommy's business; "DEALER MARKETING", along with the business and Tommy Tutones only number... Tommy will create a voice message for the new owner and "sing" the name of your choice along with "you have reached Tommy Tutone at 867-5309" NOT AN IMPOSTOR, but the one and only number - from the man who made it famous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqUPApCUt90

http://www.tutone.com

FACTS:  867-5309 is without a doubt one of the most famous numbers in the world through song and pop culture - and Marketing Company d.b.a. "Dealer Marketing" is being offered by Tommy Heath, p.k.a. "Tommy Tutone".  Tommy is the founding member of the well known 80's Rock Band "Tommy Tutone" known for the smash hit song: "Jenny 867-5309" that still continues to be played and heard by millions on a weekly basis on classic rock radio stations worldwide.  Tommy Tutone also continues to perform worldwide offering an outstanding live show to fans in anticipation of singing along to the top hit "Jenny 867-5309". 

Tommy Tutone is managed and booked by www.fullentertainmusic.com

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

Saturday, February 7:

12:00 Sundance: Live From Abbey Road: Gnarls Barkley, Subways, Herbie Hancock, Sonya Kitchell

2:00 - 9:00 VH1 Classic: Seven Ages of Rock

9:00 PBS Austin City Limits: Drive-By Truckers,Ryan Bingham

11:30 NBC: Saturday Night Live: TV On The Radio

1:00 Fuel TV: Check 1, 2: Valient Thorr

2:00 Sundance: Spectacle: Elvis Costello w/Herbie Hancock

Sunday, February 8:

12:00 Sundance: Spectacle: Elvis Costello w/Herbie Hancock

3:45 HD Net Concert Series: Sheryl Crow

4:45 HD Net Concert Series: Macy Gray

6:00 HD Net Concert Series: Vince Gill

8:00 HD Net Concert Series: Coldplay

8:00 CBS: 51st Annual Grammy Awards - Radiohead, Lil Wayne, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, blah blah blah blah...

11:15 HD Net Concert Series: Pink

2:00 HD Net Concert Series: Foo Fighters

Monday, February 9:

11:30 Comedy Central: Colbert Report - TV On the Radio

11:30 CBS David Letterman: Von Bondies

11:30 NBC Jay Leno: Duffy

12:00 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: David Cook

12:30 CBS Craig Ferguson: Adele

1:30 NBC Carson Daly: T.I., Sam Sparro

Best band outta Atlanta all year, we say.

By Blurt Staff

Atlanta's Coathangers have a handful of live dates lined up prior to the April 7^th release of new album Scramble on Suicide Squeeze.  Dates include a February residency at Star Bar in Atlanta and several shows opening for These Arms Are Snakes before making a stop at SXSW.  

In less than three years, The Coathangers, Julia Kugel (guitar/vocals), Stephanie Luke (drums/vocals), Candice Jones (keyboard/vocals), and Meredith Franco (bass/vocals) have grown from a band of girlfriends buying the cheapest instruments an Atlanta pawn shop could offer, to a group of formidable, adaptable performers. The quartet has shared the stage or toured with bands such as Deerhunter, Atlas Sound, Jay Reatard, The Strange Boys , The Black Lips and The Vivian Girls among others.

As their label puts it, "You could look at them and think they're this way or that, but they will not conform.  These are four really different people who have bonded beyond the point of just being friends. You might think you can pin them down, but they don't care.  Their fashion isn't contrived, their music feels like music for music's sake because that's exactly what it is natural, voluntary, spontaneous, impulsive, intuitive and entirely better for it."

Meanwhile, as BLURT puts it in our forthcoming review of the album, "Raw but self-assured, its finger-in-the-socket electricity channeled through rambunctious melodies... full of dizzy yelps and fritzed-out cheerleader chants and, just to prove they can do it, a couple of sweet, girl-group ballads. Fun stuff."

THE COATHANGERS TOUR DATES:

WED FEB 18 - Atlanta GA, Star Bar

WED FEB 25 - Atlanta GA, Star Bar

WED MAR 11 - Washington DC, Rock & Roll Hotel #*

THU MAR 12 - Charlotte NC, The Milestone #*

FRI MAR 13 - Atlanta GA, Drunken Unicorn #^

SAT MAR 14 - Gainesville FL, Common Grounds #^

SUN MAR 15 - Orlando FL, The Social #*^

TUE MAR 17 - Houston TX, The Mink

WED MAR 18 - Austin TX, SXSW, (Red Eyed Fly, Suicide Squeeze Showcase)

THU MAR 19-21 Austin TX, SXSW

SUN MAR 22 - Dallas TX, The Lounge w/ Wavves, Abe Vigoda

SAT APR 4 - Atlanta GA, The Earl, Record Release!

MON MAY 11 - Atlanta GA, The Eyedrum w/ Calvin Johnson

# with These Arms Are Snakes

* with All The Saints

^ with Young Widows

A true rock �n' roll wildman - "an Elvis from Hell," no less - has once again passed on.

By Fred Mills

Erick Lee Purkhiser - that's the Cramps' manic, mic-gobblin', �nads-flashing, howlin-at-the-moon, can-your-pussy-do-the-dog-BABY! frontman known as Lux Interior - passed away yesterday in Glendale, Calif. at the age of 62. He'd been suffering from a heart condition.

Lux along with his partner-in-twang Kristy "Poison Ivy Rorschach" Wallace jumpstarted their share of revivals in their time, commencing operations in '72 as the Cramps and, upon landing in NYC during the early CBGB era, became one of the legendary punk bands. From thrashy takes on classic rockabilly to glam-fueled garage to just plain Crampsian rock - yes, that adjective is in popular coinage, and anyone who sees it used understands instinctively what it connotes - the band outlasted all their peers while consistently putting on one of rock's great three-ring circuses right up until Lux's unexpected demise. But you know all that already.

Watch BLURT next week for an extended appreciation of Lux and his peculiarly demented craft - he was one of the greats.

That makes three heroes in less than a month - Lux, Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, and folk godfather John Martyn. 2009 is shaping up to be very, very sad indeed, and while I've said it plenty of times in the past, I'll say it again: go up to your musical heroes and tell them how much they mean to you NOW, in their lifetime. Don't wait for your chance to be first in line at the eulogy queue. Trust me: they may deflect your praise, either out of reflex or genuine humility, but deep inside, they will appreciate it.

Musicians, authors, comedians, composers, ventriloquists - what's not to like?

By Blurt Staff

In support of his new record with the Minus Five, "Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead" (out March 10), John Wesley Harding will present JOHN WESLEY HARDING'S CABINET OF WONDERS at Le Poisson Rouge on Feb 11. The Cabinet of Wonders will take the shape of a variety show with a rotating cast of guest performers, hosted by and featuring John Wesley Harding.


The lineup for Feb 11 is:

· Jonathan Ames (author, HBO pilot, Bored to Death, with Jason Schwartzman)
· Rick Moody (author, The Ice Storm, Demonology, The Black Veil)
· Eugene Mirman (comedian, Flight of the Conchords)
· Shivaree (musician, Zoë Records)
· Carla Rhodes (rock and roll ventriloquist)
· P.T. Walkley (songwriter/film composer, Ed Burns collaborator)

More details can be read in the official press release, below, and watch BLURT next week for a special JWH feature as well. Also, check the video teaser below featuring JWH and Mirman - it's a hoot.

***

Renowned singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding, hailed by Rolling Stone as, "a literate and ironic neo-folkie with enough bile to win over a younger, hipper audience not attuned to folk music," releases his latest album, Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead, on March 10 via Popover Corps/Rebel Group. In support of the record Harding will be hosting a three-show residency at New York City's Le Poisson Rouge on February 11, March 11 and April 15: John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonders. Part variety show and part concert, the Cabinet of Wonders will draw together collaborators from the worlds of music, literature, comedy and even ventriloquism all hand-picked by Harding himself. "I wanted to bring together my novel writing friends (who mostly envy my musician friends) and my musician friends (who mostly envy my novel writing friends) under one flag," says Harding. "The fact is: I like everyone who's performing."

Among those performing with curator and host Harding are novelists Rick Moody and Colson Whitehead, comedian Eugene Mirman, and musicians Rosanne Cash, Graham Parker and Josh Ritter. Please see attached for a list of performers and show lineups.

Recorded with backing band The Minus Five (featuring Scott McCaughey and Peter Buck of REM), Who Was Changed is Harding's first rock album since 2004's Adam's Apple and finds him collaborating with the likes of Mike Viola (Candy Butchers), Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) and Kelly Hogan. Included with the new record is a live bonus CD, recorded at Brooklyn's Union Hall on October 27, 2008 with guest duettist Josh Ritter among others.

Since his critically acclaimed 1990 debut Here Comes the Groom (lauded by the LA Times as "the first great rock record of the `90s") John Wesley Harding has recorded 10 albums for both major (Sire, Hollywood) and independent (Mammoth, Rhino, Appleseed) labels alike. Recently Harding has authored a pair of novels under his given name, Wesley Stace, published by Little Brown in the U.S.: the internationally best-selling Misfortune (nominated for the Guardian First Book Award and the Commonwealth Writer's Prize) and by George (named a 2007 New York Public Library "Book to Remember"). Misfortune's film rights have already been optioned and his third novel is due late 2009.

New combo includes members of Gutter Twins, Great Northern and Polyphonic Spree.

By Blurt Staff

Subhead above applies - that should be enough to get your attention.

Meanwhile, you can read up on the band below....

***

My Jerusalem met through critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Jeff Klein, who played with each of them in his travels as a solo artist. Jeff met guitarist Dave Rosser, a touring member of and Twilight Singers, through producer Mike Napolitano. Bassist Ashley Dzerigian was in Great Northern and toured with Ed Harcourt. Drummer Cully Symington was in Bishop Allen and tracked The Gutter Twins album. Rick Nelson, who plays violin, viola, cello and keyboards in the band, is a longtime member of the Polyphonic Spree and St. Vincent.

"I didn't actually start out thinking of forming a band," Jeff says. "I'd played with all of them at different times, and I was like, ‘How great would it be to play with all of these people at the same time?' And then when we did, it made perfect sense for that to be what we do. We clicked immediately."

"Once all of us got in the same room at the same time, I knew at that moment it had become very special to all of us," Rick concurs. "In many bands I have worked with, some musicians just don't listen to each other. They only pay attention to themselves. In My Jerusalem, we all interact. The end result is evident."

The band's debut EP Without Feathers will be released on 00:02:59 Records thru Sony/RED on March 10th.

One of the things that makes My Jerusalem special is the varied experience and perspectives they bring to the songs, both those Jeff has when he walked in the door, and those they've since written together. All are multi-instrumentalists with a history of onstage and self-recording ingenuity.

"All of us at one time have kind of done the one-man-band kind of thing, so if you put five one-man-band people together, it's like 25 people, like the Polyphonic Spree," Jeff chuckles.

Without Feathers opens with the driving "Sweet Chariot." The track begins with a jaunty horn line tugging at Klein's wounded whisper, Cully's fierce drum rolls ratcheting up the intensity until it all explodes into its cathartic chorus: "Victory is ours!"

"Sweet Chariot was the most fun to record," Jeff says. "We set up drums in the kitchen and used only two microphones. The song feels almost like the band's anthem."

There's a theme here: positivity, an upbeat outlook. Jeff's solo work was always well received, but for all its intensity and dark beauty, it wasn't what you'd dial up looking to be uplifted.

The band is of no fixed genre, approaching each song individually to see what they can bring to it and pull out if it. "That's it for me," says Dave. "It's the ability of the songs to be done in a bunch of styles - from acoustic to trashrock. We've done versions of several in different ways and the strength of the melodies and all seem to stand up, which will make for a killer, and unpredictable live show."

My Jerusalem will make their live debut at this year's SXSW music festival. The band is planning a summer release for their debut full length LP.

Track Listing For Without Feathers

1. Sweet Chariot
2. Under Your Skin
3. Heroin(e)
4. Turtledove
5. Remember Everything

Now, come on... don't get mad just because of the headline, Cobain fans. The idea is to get your attention....

By Blurt Staff

This breaking news just in... "Nevermind" of course is the popular Nirvana tribute band. This has been a public service announcement... with grunge. For more details go to their MySpace page:

www.myspace.com/nevermindnirvanatribute

***

Nevermind will be performing an ALL AGES event celebrating the life and music of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana.

In addition the MOTOR CLUB and NEVERMIND are donating a % of ticket sales to the KURT COBAIN MEMORIAL COMMITTEE.


The mission is to raise money to build a center for the youth of Aberdeen Washington. This outlet will allow creative young minds to explore and grow throughout the years.

To find out more about this cause please visit: www.kurtcobainmemorial.org

Writer JEFF BURLINGAME (Author of the book "OH WELL, WHATEVER...NEVERMIND") will be at MOTOR on SUNDAY APRIL 5th to talk about the 15th Anniversary. More details to come.

FRIDAY APRIL 10th, 2009
MOTOR CLUB
1950 1st Ave. S.
(between Holgate St & Walker St)
Seattle, Washington 98134
ALL AGES!
www.myspace.com/clubmotor
Doors open at 7:30pm

No, no - what we mean is the BAND Suicide...

By Fred Mills

It's your invitation to Suicide, and as previously announced in the BLURT news queue as well as in our interview with frontman Alan Vega, a slew of artists ranging from Bruce Springsteen and Nick Cave to Spiritualized and the Horrors have been recording covers of Suicide songs as part of an ongoing 10-inch EP series put together by Blast First Petite in honor of Vega and the band.

The latest entry is Britain's Primal Scream, whose contribution, due from Blastfirstpetite.com on March 30, is a version of "Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne." The EP will be limited to 3000 copies. According to a statement from the band published at NME.com this morning, the band collaborated with Miss Kitten to yield "a glam-infused track."

Observed vocalist Bobby Gillespie, "Suicide songs are so perfect and fully realized that it was hard to pick one and reinterpret it in a personal way. We chose [the track] as we loved the lyric and also its sci-fi futuristic sound. We did a garage rock glam version with French electro chanteuse Miss Kitten in the end, and tried to bring out the pop song that lies beneath every Suicide track."

Primal Scream, of course, are no slackers when it comes to interpreting other artists' work. Check this electro-pop version of "Some Velvet Morning" (see if you spot Kate Moss)...

Wilco has just posted a trailer to their latest live DVD entitled Ashes of American Flags. The DVD was filmed by our pals over at Trixie (the folks responsible  for much of our exclusive video content including Tom Morello, Jolie Holland, Deerhoof, and the Black Keys). If the trailer is any indication, Flags looks like a seriously good way to spend an afternoon. 

The artist caught in full flight last Wednesday in Columbus.

By Fred Mills

We sent our ace reporter Steven Rosen out to see Antony and the Johnsons at the third show of their current The Crying Light tour, which runs through the end of the month to Seattle, followed by a lengthy trek across the UK and Europe. (Tour dates HERE.) By all accounts, it was a riveting, at times provocative, performance, Rosen singling out Antony's "lilting, ethereal mournfulness" alongside his Johnson's "superbly played" accompaniment. "As the audience left," writes Rosen, of the evening's conclusion, "they were just talking about how good the music was. Transcendent, even."

Read the entire review HERE.

Antony on Letterman a few years ago:

Yeah, but who's taking it up the ass first?

By Blurt Staff

While the answer to that question above is most likely "consumers," the news of the expected merger between entertainment behemoths Live Nation and Ticketmaster will probably dazzle people sufficiently so that they don't feel the anal probing - at least, not yet.

You can go HERE to read the full announcement and press release materials regarding the newly-established Live Nation Entertainment but among the choice quotes (you just can't make this kind of doublespeak up):

"Live Nation Entertainment will have the tools to expand access, improve transparency and deliver artists and fans more choice - driving greater attendance at live events and bringing more value to all major constituents in the industry."

Michael Rapino, CEO of Live Nation: "This combination will drive measurable benefits to consumers and accelerate the execution of our strategy to build a better artist-to-fan direct distribution platform. As every industry observer knows, too many tickets go unsold and too many fans are frustrated with their ticket-buying experiences. The current inefficiencies in the system result in higher costs and confusion over access to seats. Together, we will work to simplify the ticketing process and ultimately increase attendance at live events. This is also a logical step in the evolution of our business model, creating a more diversified company with a stronger financial profile that will drive improved shareholder value over the long term."

Irving Azoff, CEO of Ticketmaster Entertainment: "This merger, and the resources of these combined companies, will create a new dynamic and unique creative platform of choice for fans across all levels of the live entertainment experience. There is nothing more magical than the bond and the intimate relationship of fans to artists. It is truly an experience that needs to be embraced and nurtured with both integrity and respect. One of the mandates of the combined company will be to develop that bond to unsurpassed levels. Additionally, the Live Nation and Ticketmaster relationship will allow the live entertainment community and their respective venues to reach fans on unparalleled platforms. I look forward to working closely with Michael Rapino and the Live Nation team during this exciting and industry changing time."

Well, all right then!

There will be a service charge applied to this news item....

Now that's called giving back.

By Fred Mills

Word arrives this morning that songwriter legend Leonard Cohen, currently on tour in Australia - he plays Melbourne tonight - will be donating $200,000 to go to aid for the victims of the wildfires that have been taking place in Victoria and have, thus far, already killed 181 people.

The donation is in conjunction with Cohen, Paul Kelly and concert promoters AEG Live UK and the Frontier Touring Company.

According to Frontier's managing director Michale Gudinski, "Leonard has loved his time in Australia on this tour and is shocked and deeply saddened by the news of the fires. Leonard, Paul, their touring parties and everyone at AEGLive UK and the Frontier Touring Company wish to extend their heartfelt sympathies to those that have suffered the loss of loved ones or their homes through this terrible tragedy."

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

Tuesday, February 10:

8:00 AM NBC: Today Show: Lily Allen

7:00 VH1 Classic: Oliver Stone's Teh Doors

11:30 CBS David Letterman: Heartless Bastards

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Bill Haher

12:05 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: the Little Ones

12:30 CBS Craig Fergson: Diddy

12:30 NBC: Conan O'Brien: Levon Helm

12:30 VH1 Classic: Pink Floyd's The Wall

1:35 NBC: Carson Daly: Adele

Wednesday, February 11:

9:00 AM VH1 Classic: Classic Albums: Bob Marley's Catch A Fire

4:00 VH1 Classic: Storytellers

9:00 Sundance: Spectacle: Elvis Costello w/She & Him, Jenny Lewis, Jakob Dylan

11:30 David Letterman: Anthony Hamilton

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Dierks Bentley

12:05 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

1:35 NBC Carson Daly: Blind Pilot

Everyone's fave all-beef rockers return!

By Blurt Staff

The Meat Puppets, who broke up in back in the ‘90s but got back together in 2006 - well, two-thirds of them did; Cris and Curt Kirkwood couldn't convince drummer Derrick Bostrom to sign back on, so they hooked up with Ted Marcus - and proceeded to blaze their alt-path anew. Attendees at 2007's SXSW festival are still talking about the band's sets that year.

The group will also be a major showcase draw at this year's SXSW and will be burning down Stubbs on March 19. It's to mark the upcoming release of their new studio album Sewn Together, due out May 12 on Megaforce. The album was recorded recently at The Saltmine in Phoenix, Arizona, and we'll have the scoop on it for ya very soon.

Stay tuned.

And that's a cold fact, baby.

By Blurt Staff

And the Rodriguez revival continues! If you haven't ready our profile of the legendary cult artist, you can do so HERE. Then check out this breaking news from his label, Light In The Attic...

***

Back in 1971, Coming From Reality was Rodriguez's last gasp, the follow-up to Cold Fact and the final album he was allowed to record for the Sussex label. Unearthed, once again by Light In The Attic records, it's another treat for fans new and old, designed - at the time - as Rodriguez's vision of a perfect pop album.

Coming From Reality found Rodriguez decamping from Detroit to London's Lansdowne Studios, where the album was recorded with some of the UK's top talent including Chris Spedding (Sex Pistols, Dusty Springfield, Harry Nilsson) and producer Steve Rowland (The Pretty Things, PJ Proby and the man who discovered The Cure), who recalls Coming From Reality as his all time favorite recording project.

Highlights include the super-poppy To Whom It May Concern, the Rocky Raccoon-inspired A Most Disgusting Song and period piece Heikki's Suburbia Bus Tour. The reissue also includes three previously unreleased bonus tracks recorded in Detroit in 1972 with Cold Fact collaborators Mike Theodore & Dennis Coffey, representing the last thing the trio ever did together.

Meanwhile, the Rodriguez story keeps gathering pace. A Swedish film company is working on a feature length documentary about the enigmatic performer's music and life. Rodriguez is planning to bring his live show to the UK and Europe come Spring/Summer 2009, along with further North American touring.

"It's an extraordinary trip," says Rodriguez of his new lease on life. "It feels like Picasso, Monet. All these exciting new thoughts coming at me. It's global. I'm lucky to have this second chance. It's very real and totally unexpected."

Sixto Rodriguez, then. Still coming from reality, and bigger than ever before.

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

Thursday, February 12:

8:00 Sundance: Spectacle: Elvis Costello w/She & Him, Jenny Lewis, Jakob Dylan

8:00 VH1 Classic: Prince of Paisley Park

9:00 VH1 Classic: Wattstax

11:30 CBS David Letterman: Jonas Brothers, Ashford & Simpson

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Bill Cosby

12:05 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: Mishka

12:30 CBS Craig Ferguson: Shirley Manson, Lewis Black

12:35 NBC Conan O'Brien: They Might Be Giants

1:35 NBC Carson Daly: Tom Moon, The Sounds

Friday, February 13:

7:00 VH1 Classic: AC/DC No Bull

11:30 CBS David Letterman: Matt Nathanson

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Annie Lennox

12:00 Sundance: Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig

12:05 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: Mark Seliger & Rusty Truck

12:30 CBS Craig Ferguson: Glen Campbell

12:35 NBC Conan O'Brien: Jonas Brothers, Dan Auerbach

1:35 NBC Carson Daly: Flobots

WWTD?

By Blurt Staff

It will be interesting to see Trent Reznor's reaction, considering how closely he's begun controlling all aspects of his career over the past year or so, but you just can't keep a good documentary down, eh? Due on April 7 from MVD Visual is METAL MACHINE MUSIC: Nine Inch Nails and the Industrial Uprising, and you guessed it, the title was inspired by the Lou Reed album which, despite speculation at the time that it was a contractual obligation designed to shock the listener, wound up having a long-reaching influence upon gearheads everywhere.

The likes of Genesis P.Orridge and Throbbing Gristle in London, Cabaret Voltaire in Sheffield however, were concurrently performing a UK brand of what would soon be termed ‘industrial', and these seeds collectively not only assisted and influenced the rapid rise of that period's Punk assault, they also moved electronic music into a new era. This new era would run its own course and influence greatly an American drift in the mid-1980s towards a home-grown, danceable variety of electro-industrial rock, with the remarkable Nine Inch Nails at its heart and soul.

This film traces fascinating and reviews the fascinating history of industrial music, via its 1970s origins, through its enormous rise to prominence in America in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s with NIN as the focal point, to culminate with the current activities of Trent Reznor as he uses marketing and promotional initiatives in a manner just as creative as the music he continues to compose. 

FEATURING: Brand new interviews with; Genesis P. Orridge, Nine Inch Nails' Chris Vrenna and Richard Patrick, NIN Biographer and Classic Rock journalist, Tommy Udo, Jon Wiederhorn from Revolver magazine, Chemlab's Jared Louche and many others.

Also features rare footage and music from Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, Depeche Mode, Ministry, Skinny Puppy and, of course, Nine Inch Nails ....plus numerous archive interviews with Trent Reznor, seldom seen live performances, news clips, photographs from private collections and much more.

Extras on the 135-minute DVD include:

Extended interviews

Featurette - "The Genesis of Industrial"

GPO on his personal ‘roots'

Digital Contributor Biographies

Showcase at SXSW plus NYC and LA, FYI.

By Blurt Staff

Last month we confirmed in this space that the new PJ Harvey album, A Woman a Man Walked By, featuring collaborator John Parish, is out March 31 on Island. We're listening to it this very minute and it's a scorcher.

Be watching in early March for the very first print issue of BLURT in which we review the album. An excerpt: "It sounds like a return to form... a joy to hear Harvey rant and rock again [and] sneer and moan... creak and croon."

All right then! Meanwhile, the duo will be playing a showcase in Austin at SXSW followed by concerts in LA and NYC in which songs from the new album and their 1996 collection Dance Hall at Louise Point. But that's about it for now, as they're then headed back to England for shows in the UK and Europe, and nothing else has been announced for the States just yet.

PJ Harvey and John Parish Tour Dates:

3-21 Austin, TX - SXSW
3-23 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
3-26 New York, NY - The Fillmore at Irving Plaza
4-15 Brighton, England - Corn Exchange
4-16 Oxford, England - Brookes University
4-18 Bristol, England - Anson Rooms
4-20 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire
4-21 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire
4-22 Birmingham, England - Town Hall
4-24 Manchester, England - Ritz
4-26 Edinburgh, Scotland - Queens Hall
5-02 Porto, Portugal - Casa Da Musica
5-04 Milan, Italy - Auditorium
5-06 Stuttgart, Germany - Theaterhaus
5-07 Berlin, Germany - Passionskirche
5-09 Stockholm, Sweden - Nalen
5-10 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
5-11 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
5-13 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
5-14 Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique
5-17 Paris, France - Bataclan
5-18 Paris, France - Bataclan
7-25 Dorset, England - Bestival (PJ Harvey solo)

Break like the wind and smell that motherfucking glove, baby, one more time...

By Fred Mills

UK media reports tell us that Spinal Tap has regrouped once again to record a new album in conjunction with their 25^th anniversary of the This Is Spinal Tap mockumentary. Speaking to the BBC, bassist Derek Smalls commented, "It'll be for download as well as on conventional media later this year... We've never recorded the song we did at Live Earth, Warmer Than Hell, and I think [Spinal Tap] are trying to revisit their old success."

Apparently orginal Tap film director Rob Reiner shot footage at the Live Earth concert in London in 2007 and filmed additional clips outlining what the band had been up to: Smalls, recovering from "an internet addiction"; David St. Hubbins, a second career as a hip-hop producer; and Nigel Tufnel, "raising miniature racing horses."

The drummers, of course, all went on to lucrative careers playing in the house bands for Leno, Letterman and Conan O'Brien (when Max Weinberg is off with the E Street Band, natch)....

Spinal Tap w/David Gilmour doing "Big Bottom":

Yeah, we're pinching ourselves too.

By Fred Mills

Here's a gift you can give your significant other this weekend: news about the Limp Bizkit reunion! That's right: fat, scary-looking guys with shaved heads and soul patches, along with their slutty stripper girlfriends with the tats, nose rings and dreads, can all lock arms and sing a chorus of "Nookie" in honor of the event.

Guitarist Wes Borland and singer Fred Durst have apparently patched things up just in time for Valentine's day. (Aww....) According to a statement the pair posted to the band's official website, "We decided we were more disgusted and bored with the state of heavy popular music than we were with each other. Regardless of where our separate paths have taken us, we recognize there is a powerful and unique energy with this particular group of people we have not found anywhere else. This is why Limp Bizkit is back."

Recall, of course, that Borland split acrimoniously from the band some time ago. Although his solo career (with Black Light Burns) never really went anywhere, so there ya go! Borland and Durst will be joined by Sam Rivers, John Otto and DJ Lethal. Party on, kids.

20 love songs for your Valentine's Day listening pleasure!

By Fred Mills

The economy's in the toilet and we're all looking for some relief, so what better stimulus than free music? Our good friends over at Charlotte, NC-based Shuffle Magazine - featuring the dynamic editing duo of John Schacht and Bryan Reed, who are not-so-coincidentally trusted BLURT contributors -  have a new deal for you! Read on for details. This has been a Valentine's Day public service.. with guitars, natch.

***

Shuffle Presents: The Freeload.

Twenty regional acts from the Triangle to the Triad, from shining sea (Charleston) to mountains (Asheville), all of 'em knocking the stuffing out of 20 love songs for your Valentine's Day listening pleasure. Includes exclusive soon-to-be mega-hits from the likes of Yardwork, Floating Action, Sea of Cortez, the French & Indian War, Grids, Bruce Hazel & Some Volunteers, and Wayne Robbins & the Hellsayers, as well as already released chart-toppers and Grammy winners from the likes of the Explorer's Club, Horseback, Hammer No More the Fingers, Lou Ford and the Old Ceremony, among many, many more (eight more, actually).

Just go to www.shufflezine.tv and click on the free download for "VD is for Lovers" link.

Did I mention it's free? Because it is. Register on-line with us (takes two seconds, no Spam -- well, except this) and download away; you'll also be eligible to receive our weekly WTF Gig Finder every Thursday (good throughout the region), which beings Feb. 26. And stay tuned for future free-music giveaways.

Please feel free to viralize for friends, siblings, colleagues, the postman, the guy who mows your neighbor's lawn, barristas, Barack, record label execs, etc.

P.S. Heart-felt thanks to the musicians who donated their time, effort and music, without which this freeload would be extremely quiet.

Also issues subtle challenge to ticket scalpers....

By Blurt Staff

On May 19 Iron and Wine will issue Around the Well (Sub Pop), a 2-CD/3-LP collection of rare tracks ranging from out-of-print to never-before-released. In support of Around the Well Iron and Wine will be performing ten intimate shows in five cities. Each individual show will be wholly unique, as Iron and Wine will turn the set list over to the fans to create. In addition, Iron and Wine have begun work on the follow-up to The Shepherd's Dog and plan to release a new album in spring, 2010. 

Around the Well

The tracks collected on Around the Well span from Iron and Wine's earliest sessions which yielded the band's debut (2002's The Creek Drank the Cradle) through material recorded for 2007's The Shepherd's Dog.  The double-disc collection is broken up into two sections. The first half is an assortment of hushed home recordings, unedited and raw, and the second highlights moments captured in the confines of proper studios with the help of other musicians, friends and engineers. 

The album's title comes from a line in the song "The Trapeze Swinger," a fan favorite which was written for and included in the movie In Good Company. Three more songs written and recorded for the film finally make their appearance here as well: "Belated Promise Ring," "God Made the Automobile" and "Homeward, These Shoes." Around the Well also brings together hard to find covers such as The Flaming Lips' "Waitin' for a Superman" and New Order's "Love Vigilantes," along with one of Iron and Wine's earliest originals, "Sacred Vision," which appeared on a compilation for Sound Collector magazine..

Iron and Wine Spring 2009 US Tour

In support of Around the Well Iron and Wine will be performing ten intimate shows in five US cities. Tickets for all these shows go on sale February 20, 2009. Complete list of tour dates listed below.

Each show will feature a unique set list, determined by Iron and Wine fans. Beginning March 6^th and running thru March 30^th at www.ironandwine.com, fans can vote by city and night for the songs they'd like to see performed each evening. For those who can't attend, the shows will be made available after the tour is completed, in some cases days after, on Iron and Wine's official live recording site Played Last Night, www.playedlastnight.com.

Around the Well Track Listing

Disc 1

1. Dearest Forsaken     

2. Morning                    

3. Loud as Hope

4. Peng! 33

5. Sacred Vision

6. Friends They Are Jewels                   

7. Hickory                    

8. Waitin' for a Superman                      

9. Swans and the Swimming                 

10. Call Your Boys                    

11. Such Great Heights

(Vinyl break occurs between "Friends" and "Hickory.")

Disc 2

1. Communion Cups & Someone's Coat

2. Belated Promise Ring            

3. God Made the Automobile                  

4. Homeward, These Shoes                  

5. Love Vigilantes                     

6. Sinning Hands                      

7. No Moon      

8. Serpent Charmer                   

9. Carried Home

10. Kingdom of the Animals

11. Arms of a Thief                   

12. The Trapeze Swinger

(Vinyl break occurs between "Sinning" and "No Moon." At nearly ten minutes, "The Trapeze Swinger" will stand alone on the third piece of vinyl.)

Iron and Wine Spring 2009 US Tour Dates

Monday, May 4, 2009                         Seattle, Vera Project (w/Yogoman Burning Band)

Tuesday, May 5, 2009                        Seattle, Triple Door (w/Alela Diane)

Wednesday, May 6, 2009                  San Francisco, Swedish American Hall (w/Yogoman Burning Band)

Thursday, May 7, 2009                      San Francisco, Swedish American Hall (w/Magic Leaves)

Friday, May 8, 2009                            Los Angeles, Masonic Hall at Hollywood Forever Cemetery (w/ Alela Diane and DJ Small Town Talk)

Saturday, May 9, 2009                       Los Angeles, Troubadour (w/Yogoman Burning Band)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009                     Chicago, Lakeshore Theatre (w/Katie Stelmanis)

Wednesday, May 13, 2009                               Chicago, Schuba's
Sunday, May 17, 2009                       New York, Abrons Arts Center (w/Lia Ices)

Monday, May 18, 2009                       New York, Abrons Arts Center (w/partyface)

*All shows go on sale February 20, 2009. Tickets are will-call only. They are NON-TRANSFERABLE. No advance hard tickets will be issued. Purchaser must present ID at the door to claim tickets. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Yet more musical sweets served up absolutely gratis...

By Blurt Staff

Carrot Top Records masquerades as Cupid with a special Valentine's Day promo featuring love songs by The Handsome Family, Speck Mountain and The Bitter Tears.

Handsome Family is giving away free music tomorrow to celebrate Valentine's Day.  Their Carrot Top Records labelmates Speck Mountain and Bitter Tears are also getting in on the action - see below for all the details.

***

Beginning at midnight on Saturday, February 14 a downloadable widget becomes available at http://www.carrottoprecords.com. Only available for a 24-hour lifespan, the widget contains "Darling, My Darling" by the Handsome Family, "Angela" by Speck Mountain and "The Love Letter" by the Bitter Tears.

One of Mojo's top ten American Albums for 2006 and called "an unqualified triumph" by Uncut, The Handsome Family consider their songs Romantic in the 19th century sense of the word: full of an awed sense of emotion in the face of nature's mysteries. Their eighth CD, Honey Moon (releasing April 14, 2009) was written to celebrate their twentieth year of marriage.

Earning them a spot on UNCUT's 20 Best Americana Albums of 2008, Speck Mountain's divine marriage between melody and drone leads these "musical soul mates" to the release of Some Sweet Relief on March 17, 2009.

Crafting an assault of absurd lyrical undertones, The Bitter Tears blend different kinds of pop (country, folk, rock, brass band) while flying by the seat of their pants with whatever direction a song happened to be moving. Taken hold by the Chicago quintet, The Bitter Tears will release their second album, Jam Tarts in the Jakehouse, through Carrot Top Records on March 3, 2009.

Is EVERYBODY giving away free music tomorrow?!?

By Blurt Staff

A very special message, below, from eclectic singer-songwriter Tim Fite - recall that he also gave away an entire digital album last Halloween...

***

Hello All,

On February 14, 2009, I will be releasing a very special album for free on my website: www.timfite.com  It is called Change of Heart , and I hope that you will take a few minutes to download it.

It is a bit different from my other recordings , because it doesn' t have anything to do with the outside world . I made Change of Heart while working on Fair Ain't Fair and sorting through the wide array of emotions that result from a broken heart . For this reason, I ask that you handle these songs with care, as they are very fragile. 

I will also be packing my bags and going going going on a heart - stopping, non-stopping 10 city headline tour starting next week with special guest friends Benjy Ferree and DeLeon. Dates are below and more informations and ticket links are on my page.

Time again , 

Tim

Feb 19 - Cambridge, MA @ TT the Bear' s Place 

Feb 20 - Brooklyn, NY @ The Bell House 

Feb 21 - Philadelphia, PA @ M Room

Feb 22 - Pittsburgh , PA @ Thunderbird Cafe

Feb 23 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern

Feb 24 - Pontiac, MI @ The Pike Room

Feb 25 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas

Feb 26 - Cincinnati , OH @ North side Tavern

Feb 27 - Columbus, OH @ The Summit

Feb 28 - Washington DC @ Black Cat

Part of the multi-artist charity project for IntraHealth OPEN Initiative.

By Fred Mills

As part of a benefit project for the IntraHealth OPEN Initiative, a slew of artists including R.E.M.'s Pete Buck, Duncan Shiek and Nas have cut tracks for a charity album, OPEN Remix, featuring remixes of African superstar Youssou N'Dour's "Wake Up." You can read all about the OPEN Initiative at report that's posted at MarketWatch.com.

Anyone wanting to check out the organization directly and even make a donation can go HERE.

Meanwhile, BLURT faves Toubab Krewe, whose Appalachia-meets-Mali brand of funkafied world beat was reviewed by yours truly HERE, have also done a remix of the N'Dour song. It's pretty awesome, so check it out:

Toubab Krewe - "Wake Up (remix)"

[Photo Credit: Daniel Barojas]

Cancels scheduled performance of lame Wall-E song; the rest of win!

By Blurt Staff

According to a video blog posted to Peter Gabriel's website (www.petergabriel.com), the eccentric singer has decided to cancel his appearance at this year's Oscars, which will be Feb. 22 in L.A. He'd originally been scheduled to play "Down To Earth," from the Wall-E soundtrack - he's nominated in the Music (Song) category - but upon learning that it would only be part of a 65-second medley and not the complete song, he pulled out.

 Said Gabriel, "We were originally hoping to perform. We'd assumed, as there are only three nominees, that the songs would be performed [in full. But the producers came in to revamp it as audience figures were falling off. One of the things they've decided to cut is the songs. So we've only been offered 65 seconds as part of a medley. So I've now decided to withdraw from the ceremony, but I'll still go along. I do think it's a bit unfortunate. I do think songwriters, even though they're a small part of the filmmaking process... we still work bloody hard and I think deserve a place in the ceremony as well.

"So I'm an old fart, and it's not going to do me any harm to make a little protest. But the ceremony will be fun and I'm looking forward to it."

Er, Pete, it wasn't that they didn't actually want the whole song - they were afraid you'd show up wearing that flower outfit and upstage the whole spectacle....

One more freebie for ya, kids.

By Blurt Staff

Empire of Love is the name, and giving it away for free is the game, courtesy the Mobius Band. See the full tracklisting for the 6-song EP below - it's got cover os Kanye West, Tom Petty, TV On the Radio and others.

Mobius Band recorded the new record in a friend's empty house in North Bennington, VT just a couple weeks ago (yes - literally empty save for three rugs and a piano that couldn¹t be moved).  They brought in all of the recording equipment and instruments along with sleeping bags, food, pans, etc. (just like camping!), set everything up in one room, decided what covers to record on the spot, and made this EP in four days.

With tens of thousands of downloads of last year's LOVE WILL REIGN SUPREME including ambitious covers of Daft Punk and The National, the Mobius Band is happy to direct you to their website where you can nab the tunes and the album art: http://www.mobiusband.com

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

Saturday, February 14:

12:00 noon: Sundance: Live From Abbey Road: Brian Wilson, Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson

9:00 PBS: Austin City Limits: Sarah McLachlan, Duffy

11:30 NBC: Saturday Night Live: Jonas Brothers

Sunday, February 15:

12:00 noon: Sundance: Spectacle - Elvis Costello w/Jenny Lewis, Jakob Dylan, She & Him

2:00 HDNET: The Buzzcocks - Live at the Forum

3:00 HDNet: New Found Glory - Live in Boston

4:00 HDNet: John Mellencamp Live at Walter Reed

5:20 HDNet: CSNY / Déjà Vu

7:00 HDNet: Tokio Hotel Live From Hollywood

8:00 HDNet: Backstreet Boys Live from the O2 Arena

10:30 HDNet: Wynton Marsalis - Rebuilding the Sould of America

11:30 HDNet: Chris Botti & Friends - Live at the Wilshire Theatre

Monday, February 16:

9:00 syndicated: Regis & Kelly: Jonas Brothers

4:00 Sundance: Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man

11:30 CBS David Letterman: Willie Nelson w/Asleep at the Wheel

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Lily Allen

12:05 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: Lenka

12:30 CBS Craig Ferguson: Zac Brown Band

1:35 NBC Carson Daly: Puddle of Mudd

Most outstanding example of what to give your sweetie as an expression of your affection: an ambulance ride to the hospital!

By Blurt Staff

While most of you are sitting around eating chocolate, drinking champagne and making whoopie with your significant other, we at BLURT are like a bunch of friggin' chipmunks on crack, manically scouring the web for the latest, most happening news. Boy, did we ever find it: Britain's every-reliable The Sun is reporting that Amy Winehouse was admitted to a hospital in St. Lucia last night after "collapsing."

Writes the tabloid, "The drug addict star, 25, was said to be "a shaking mess" as she was rushed in [to the hospital]. Sources on the Caribbean isle, where she has been staying while battling heroin and crack cocaine addiction, said she had been drinking heavily.  One said: ‘She looked in a terrible state. The people with her were very concerned.'"

A hospital spokesman said that Winehouse had "run out of a drug replacement she has been using" but would be leaving soon as she was "recovering well."

Er, we should point out that "collapsing" is often what happens to someone who is drinking heavily and taking drugs. Don't you feel better now that you've learned all this? Okay, back to your regularly scheduled program....

That dang music festival and conference just got better...

By Fred Mills

Regular attendees to South By Southwest may recall how at times in the past the spring installment of the twice-annual Austin Record Convention also took place, effectively doubling the in-town action (and making those suitcases for the flights back home from SXSW a lot heavier). Recent years, however, saw the RecCon shuffling its schedule so it would not coincide with SXSW. One long-time dealer told me that the move came as a huge relief to him and a number of his fellow dealers for a number of reasons, including those involving the logistics of getting around Austin and the somewhat debatable assumption that potential customers to the RecCon are distracted by SXSW and therefore less likely to shop.

This year's spring convention is to be held April 3-5 at Austin's Crockett Center, with the fall event scheduled for Oct. 23-25. However, there will now be a kind of "mini-convention" taking place during SXSW, on March 21 and 22 on the second floor of the Austin Convention Center (aka SXSW Ground Zero). Sixty or seventy dealers (as opposed to the main event's hundreds) will be set up displaying their wares, and it seems like a pretty reasonable guess that this is a strategy to broaden the SXSW experience - not that it isn't broad already (an understatement) - and attract more potential attendees who may be fence-sitting this year and pondering whether a trip to Austin is in the cards, financially. (Memo to self: either bring a lot of extra dough to SXSW, or avoid second floor of the Convention Center entirely!)

According to the RecCon website, "[SXSW] wanted a record show as part of their schedule. It will be heavily promoted by SXSW in all types of media, local and national. SXSW will also have the Texas Guitar Show and the Flatstock Poster Show going on at the convention center at the same time. Admission will be free."

Adds the SXSW site,"The Austin Record Convention and Texas Guitar Show will be hosted by SXSW in the Austin Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday, March 21-22 from 10am to 6pm. Admission is free and open to the public. Dealers from around the country are on hand to appraise and buy your unwanted records or music equipment. You can also buy that sought-after vintage guitar or super-rare record that's missing from you collection. Learn more here . Flatstock 20, the rock poster art convention, has added another day for your viewing and buying pleasure. Hundreds of poster artists will display and have for purchase their posters featuring amazing artwork promoting band's concerts at venues and festivals around the world. Admission is free and open to the public Thursday-Sunday, March 19-22. Click here for more info."

Picks up all his early output plus a slew of unreleased tracks.

Dntel, aka Jimmy Tamborello (also of the Postal Service, his project with Ben Gibbard), has announced and April 14 release date for Early Works For Me If It Works For You II, a three CD set on the Phthalo label. It includes the first two Dntel releases on Phthalo remastered, as well as a 3rd disc of unreleased material, composed slightly before his third album, Life is Full of Possibilities on Plug Research.

Tamborello issued a statement outlining the project:

"In 1994 I compiled my first tracks as Dntel onto a cassette called Something Always Goes Wrong and sent it to some labels. It came pretty close to getting a real release but things ended up falling through with the label and I had to resort to making tape copies and giving them to friends. I kept making songs and eventually put together another cassette for friends. My friend Hoseh (who does a radio show called "Headspace" on KXLU in Los Angeles) gave it to this guy Dean who liked it and made CD copies, one of which ended up in the hands of Dimitri Fergadis, who asked if he could officially release it on his label, Phthalo Records. I said yes and this collection of songs became the first official Dntel release, Early Works For Me If It Works For You, released in 1998. A year or so later he released Something Always Goes Wrong as well.

"These early tracks, inspired by Aphex Twin, Mu-Ziq, Warp Records and anything else I'd been listening to, were all instrumental (save a few vocal samples) and created using one sampler/synthesizer (a Kurzweil K2000s) and some basic midi sequencing software. I was always really interested in adding vocals to weird electronic music, and by the time EWFMIIWFY and SAGW were released I finally had a computer with the capability to record full vocal tracks more easily. This led to the next Dntel full-length, Life Is Full Of Possibilities, which was released in 2001 on Plug Research. I haven't really done much instrumental work since.

"A couple years ago I decided to listen to a bunch of old DATs of stuff I had worked on in the process of making LIFOP. Although a lot of it was rough or unfinished, it got me thinking of the old days and I decided to collect my favorites. That got me listening to the old Phthalo releases as well and somehow it all evolved slowly into this 3-CD set. It includes Early Works For Me If It Works For You and Something Always Goes Wrong, both re-mastered, as well as the new collection of DAT discoveries, Early Works For Me If It Works For You II."

-Jimmy Tamborello



Track list:

CD1 SOMETHING ALWAYS GOES WRONG

1. In Which Our Hero Begins His Long And
Arduous Quest
2. In Which Our Hero Finds A Faithful Sidekick
3. In Which Our Hero Is Put Under A Spell
4. In Which Our Hero Dodges Bullets And Swords
5. In Which Our Hero Frees The Damsel In Distress
6. In Which Our Hero Is Decapitated By The Evil
King
7. In Which Our Hero Begins His Long And
Arduous Quest (Seq Remix)
8. In Which Our Hero Was Taken By Surprise
(Languis Remix)
9. The S.O.S.
10. A Machine And A Memory Keep You Alive

CD2 EARLY WORKS FOR ME IF IT WORKS
FOR YOU

1. Loneliness Is Having No One To Miss
2. High Horses Theme
3. Pliesex Sielking
4. Termites In The Bathtub
5. Fort Instructions
6. Curtains
7. Tybalt 60
8. Danny Loves Experimental Electronics
9. Sky Pointing
10. Casuals
11. Winds Let Me Down Again
12. Jewel States, ?The Door Borders?

CD3 EARLY WORKS FOR ME IF IT WORKS
FOR YOU II

1. New Name
2. Incomplete 1
3. Paul Guitar
4. Don?t Try
5. Serious
6. Darker Earlier
7. Smile Break
8. Incomplete 4
9. Moody
10. Slowdance
11. Fancy Ian
12. Jittery
13. Incomplete 2
14. Bluegrass (Short)
15. Mini
16. Laughs
17. The First Day After The Worst
18. Ender

DNTEL LINKS:

MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/dntel

Artist Page - http://www.dntelmusic.com

Label Page - http://www.phthalo.com

Also available as two-CD set.

By Blurt Staff

Leonard Cohen's Live In London is en route from Columbia as either a DVD or 2 CD set on March 31. Recorded live on July 17, 2008 at London's 02 Arena, one of Europe's largest indoor venues during Cohen's 2008 World Tour, Live In London offers classic Cohen songs drawn from the artist's 40-year career. Cohen's first newly recorded release since 2004's gold-certified Dear Heather, the Live In London collection fully captures and recreates the extraordinary show that earned Cohen, who celebrated his 40th year as a Columbia Records artist in 2007, more than 80 five-star reviews for performances during his fall 2008 UK and European tour.

You can get a sneak preview of it via a stream of "Suzanne" at www.amazon.com/leonardcohen. (And, you guessed it, you can preorder the album at Amazon too!)

Incidentally, with his 2008 World Tour selling more than 700,000 tickets across 84 shows worldwide, Leonard Cohen is coming to New York City's Beacon Theatre this week February 19 to perform his first U.S. concert in 15 years. Go HERE for more details on that; a full U.S. tour is slated for later this year.

Disc 1 -

1. Dance Me To The End Of Love

2. The Future

3. Ain't No Cure For Love

4. Bird On The Wire

5. Everybody Knows

6. In My Secret Life

7. Who By Fire

8. Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye

9. Anthem

10. Introduction

11. Tower Of Song

12. Suzanne

13. The Gypsy's Wife

Disc 2 -

1. Boogie Street

2. Hallelujah

3. Democracy

4. I'm Your Man

5. Recitation w/ N.L.

6. Take This Waltz

7. So Long, Marianne

8. First We Take Manhattan

9. Sisters Of Mercy

10. If It Be Your Will

11. Closing Time

12. I Tried To Leave You

13. Wither Thou Goest

Claims he'll bow out at age 55 or thereabouts. Heaven knows he's not exactly miserable now, however...

By Fred Mills

On the eve of the release of his new album Years of Refusal and with an extensive tour set to kick off in two weeks, Morrissey has been addressing those nagging retirement rumors and - surprise, they ain't rumors at all!

Speaking to XFM (www.xfm.co.uk) the Moz reflected on turning 50 this year and then went on to say that the chances of him still singing at 55 or 60 are "incredibly slim."

He explained his reasoning, saying, "I assume most people lose it because they become satisfied and they achieve everything they ever set out to achieve. More to the point, they become personally satisfied and that they're quite happy and it doesn't matter any more. It's very interesting that it's very hard to think of anybody who ages and still manages to mean anything."

Well, all right then!

Meanwhile, you can read our cautionary review of the album sometime before YOU start aging HERE, as our feelings on the album are decidedly mixed.

Uttered BLURT: "Morrissey knows he's made a career about thinking about himself, turning himself into a character beloved by legions. With little of the tempering irony or self-deprecation that his best work-as a solo artist or especially with the Smiths-allows, Years Of Refusal can seem disingenuous and overstated."

Plan to cap it off with a Bonnaoroo blowout...

By Blurt Staff

In addition to their high-profile, album-unveiling SXSW show set for March 18 in Austin, the Decemberists have now announced the first leg of their Spring 2009 North American tour in support of The Hazards of Love, their ambitious new album to be released by Capitol Records on March 24th. The 16-date run will kick off May 19th at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, and include a June 10th performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York, as well as a set at the 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee.

On tour, The Decemberists will present a full performance of the album, a 17-song suite that tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake. Joining the band on stage will be Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden who deliver the lead vocals for the female characters. The band announced last week that they will give the debut live performance of The Hazards of Love when they headline NPR Music's South by Southwest showcase at Stubbs in Austin on March 18th.

With their fifth full-length album, the Portland-based quintet of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query and John Moen solidifies its standing as one of the most innovative creative forces in music today. In an age when singles rule and the death of the album has been pronounced by many, The Decemberists have fashioned an anomaly: a record that demands to be listened to from start to finish and reveals more with each subsequent play. NPR All Songs Considered has already declared it an "epic adventure," while Rolling Stone recently wrote that "[The] Hazards of Love is The Decemberists' full-on classic-rock move, with pretty Zep-style fingerpicking punctuated by crushing stoner-metal lurches."

The Decemberists Tour Dates:

May 19            Hollywood Palladium                          Los Angeles, CA

May 20            Fox Theatre                                         Oakland, CA

May 21            McDonald Theater                               Eugene, OR

May 24            Wilma Theatre                         Missoula, MT

May 26            Fillmore Auditorium                            Denver, CO

May 27            Uptown Theater                                   Kansas City, MO

May 29            Riverside Theater                                 Milwaukee, WI

May 31            The Pageant                                         St. Louis, MO

June 1              Lifestyle Communities Pavilion           Columbus, OH

June 3              Tabernacle                                           Atlanta, GA

June 4              Memorial Auditorium                          Raleigh, NC

June 5              The National                                        Richmond, VA

June 6              Tower Theatre                         Upper Darby, PA

June 9              Bank of America Pavillion                  Boston, MA

June 10            Radio City Music Hall                         New York, NY

June 11-14       Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival          Manchester, TN

Prepping to promote new album Little Hells.

By Fred Mills

As previously announced in this space, BLURT fave Marissa Nadler's new album, Little Hells, is due from Kemado on March 3. Kemado offers some additional details, saying that  Nadler "finds multiple ways to envelop the listener in splendid gauzy moods without becoming monochromatic. Marissa Nadler's video for her new song "River of Dirt" (directed by Joana Linda) couldn't be a more perfect visual element for the track. Rich colors saturate the scenes: earthy outdoor landscapes, the interior of a bus on it's way to who-knows-where, a cast of characters making their way down a dirt road, as Marissa sings ‘El camino take me home...'"

Meanwhile, Nadler's got a series of shows lined up for the spring, including a cross-country trek in April that will be pairing her with the likes of the Handsome Family and Jesse Sykes. And be watching for the debut print issue of BLURT, slated to hit newsstands in March, for a very special feature on Nadler....

Check out our previous coverage of Nadler HERE.

MARISSA NADLER TOUR DATES

Feb 14 - 8:00p - The Iron Horse - Northampton, MA *
Feb 15 - 9:00p - Cafe Nine - New Haven, CT *
Feb 21 - 9:00p - Club Passim - Cambridge, MA
Feb 27 - 8:00p - Greenpoint Lutheran Church of the Messiah - Brooklyn, NY**
Mar 4 - 7:30p - Joe's Pub - New York, NY
Apr 7 - 8:00p - Hotel Cafe - Los Angeles, CA
Apr 8 - 9:00p - Cafe du Nord - San Francisco, CA
Apr 10 - 8:00p - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA #

Apr 11 - 8:00p - The Media Club - Vancouver, BC #
Apr 12 - 9:00p - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR #
Apr 16 - 9:00p - 400 Bar - Minneapolis, MN +
Apr 17 - 8:00p - High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI+
Apr 18 - 8:00p - Shubas Tavern - Chicago, IL +
Apr 19 - 8:00p - Shubas Tavern - Chicago, IL +
Apr 21 - 8:00p - El Mocambo - Toronto, Ontario + 
Apr 22 - 8:00p - Black Sheep Inn - Wakefield, Quebec + 
Apr 24 - 9:00p - Lizard Lounge - Cambridge, MA +
Apr 25 - 8:00p - Highline Ballroom - New York, NY +
Apr 26 - 8:00p - IOTA - Arlington, VA +

* - w/ Deer Tick
** MV + EE
+ - w/ the Handsome Family
# - w/ Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter

By Blurt Staff

Due May 5 from Jagjaguwar is Outside Love by Pink Mountaintops, "ten songs of love and hate that read like a Danielle Steele romance novel but that would probably make for bad television." (Okay, that's the record label's description. Not bad, though!)

Outside Love is the third album by the one-man band -Stephen McBean, who has slowly emerged as a distinctive voice and a very special contributor to the North American songbook. A veteran of the Vancouver/Victoria punk rock scene, McBean is best known for his contributions to acclaimed rock band Black Mountain, as principal songwriter, guitarist and co-vocalist.

More description: "The ten songs on Outside Love are about or influenced by weddings in Montreal, winter, Pink Floyd's The Final Cut, Christmas albums, that one Exile song and that one Echo and the Bunnymen song, the Bermuda Triangle, being depressed in the sunshine, people who haven't made out yet but will in the future, The Everly Brothers, clowns in the ceilings, and bedrooms where skinheads used to live."

Friends and family who contributed to or appear on Outside Love include Sophie Trudeau (A Silver Mt. Zion, Godspeed You! Black Emperor), Ted Bois (Destroyer), Jesse Sykes (Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, sunnO)))), Phil Wandscher (Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, Whiskeytown), Josh Stevenson (Jackie O Motherfucker), Ashley Webber (The Organ, Bonnie Prince Billy), Amber Webber (Black Mountain, Lightning Dust), Matthew Camirand (Black Mountain, Blood Meridian), Joshua Wells (Black Mountain, Lightning Dust), Keith Parry (Superconductor, the Gay), and Tolan McNeil (Caroline Mark).

Recorded at multiple studios, Outside Love was mixed at Elmwood Studios by John Congleton (Modest Mouse, Black Mountain, Explosions In The Sky, The Mountain Goats).

TRACK LISTING:

Axis: Thrones Of Love
Execution
While You Were Dreaming
Vampire
Holiday
Come Down
Outside Love
And I Thank You
The Gayest Of Sunbeams
Closer To Heaven

Enquiring fans wanna know: will Trent and Morrissey retire together?

By Blurt Staff

As bloggers across the globe are reporting, Trent Reznor posted to the forum pages of the Nine Inch Nails website late yesterday afternoon and essentially announced his intention to bring the band to a close. Noting that 2009 is Nine Inch Nails' 20^th year of operation, he hinted at one final tour, perhaps with Jane's Addiction (the band is also lined up to appear at Bonnaroo this year)

 Wrote Reznor, "I've been thinking for some time now it's time to make NIN disappear for a while." So while that doesn't necessarily mean a full retirement from music by Reznor, he's clearly decided that perhaps going out on a high note rather than sticking around at the risk of eventually diluting the brand is the more honorable path to take.

Here's the entire post:

Towards the beginning of my career in Nine Inch Nails, our biggest break came in the form of an invitation to perform a series of shows with Jane's Addiction. These performances essentially created and defined the term "alternative" rock in the US, created an ongoing festival franchise that is still thriving (Lollapalooza), set the stage for Nirvana to shift popular taste a few months later, and were really fucking FUN to play and attend - truly the best times I've had. The shows were epic. So epic, they propelled NIN to the "next level" (whatever that means), but caused Jane's to implode. The band broke up at the end of that tour.

Fast forward to the present. Corporate rock STILL sucks. A friend tells me they saw the original Jane's lineup play a tiny show in LA that was unbelievable. I break out my Jane's records and am amazed by how vital they sound. These guys were the real deal and in this current climate mostly dominated by poseurs and pussies it was refreshing to hear something that sounded dangerous, volatile, beautiful and SINCERE.

Emails were sent, phone calls were made, dinner was arranged, ideas were discussed and the next thing I know we're in the studio experimenting. We laugh, we get to know each other, we cry, we yell, we almost quit, we record LOTS of guitar solos, we discuss, we actually begin to all communicate, we yell some more, we become FRIENDS, we laugh again and we do some great things. I get to see first hand why they broke up all those years ago but I also get the chance to see four distinct personalities that become an INCREDIBLE band when they're in the same room.

In NIN world, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of our first releases. I've been thinking for some time now it's time to make NIN disappear for a while. Last year's "Lights in the Sky" tour was something I'm quite proud of and seems like the culmination of what I could pull off in terms of an elaborate production. It was also quite difficult to pull off technically and physically night after night and left us all a bit dazed. After some thought, we decided to book a last run of shows across the globe this year. The approach to these shows is quite different from last year - much more raw, spontaneous and less scripted. Fun for us and a different way for you to see us and wave goodbye. I reached out to Jane's to see if they'd want to join us across the US and we all felt it could be a great thing. Will it work? Will it resonate in the marketplace? Who knows. Is there big record label marketing dollars to convince you to attend? Nope.

Does it feel right to us and does it seem like it will be fun for us and you? Yes it does.

Look for tour dates soon and I hope to see you out there. - Trent

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

Tuesday, February 17:

3:00 Biography Channel: Run-DMC

6:00 Biography: Sarah Silverman

4:00 VH1 Classic: Classic Albums: Metallica's "The Black Album," Sex Pistols' "Nevermind the Bollocks" and Nirvana's "Nevermind"

9:00 Fuse: Purple Rain

11:30 CBS David Letterman: M. Ward

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Andrew Bird

12:05 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: Blues Traveler

12:30 CBS: Craig Ferguson: Bill Maher

Wednesday, February 18:

9:00 am Syndicated: Ellen Degeneres: Lily Allen

9:00 Sundance: Spectacle: Elvis Costello w/Diana Krall & Elton John

11:30 CBS David Letterman: Antony & the Johnsons

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Lisa Harrigan

12:05 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: K'Naan

12:30 CBS Craig Ferguson: Wynonna

Band was literally ground zero for independent, original Tarheel rock ‘n' roll.

By Blurt Staff

Legendary N.C. band Arrogance will be celebrating their 40^th anniversary on March 21 at Durham's Carolina Theatre. For native Tarheels and music fans alike, especially those of us with long memories, this will be quite an auspicious event.

Touted as "one of the architects of the alternative trend of the 1980s" by All Music Guide, Arrogance has long been a crowd favorite in the Triangle and the influence for a host of bands that followed in their footsteps. With all the original members, including renowned producer Don Dixon, this event will showcase the band's tight harmonies, energetic performance and witty rock/pop tunes -- all the things that still make Arrogance the best live band in North Carolina.

Formed in 1969 in a dorm room at UNC by Don Dixon and Robert Kirkland, Arrogance soon became known for its unique sound, smart lyrics and exceptional harmonies. Dixon (bass) and Robert (guitar) were joined by Marty Stout  (keyboards), Scott Davison (drums) and Rod Abernathy (guitar) and the group conquered the hearts of music fans in clubs and venues throughout the Triangle from 1973-83.

Entertainment critic and co-founder of Spectator Magazine Godfrey Cheshire characterizes the band as North Carolina's Beatles, tipping his hat to Arrogance's innovative nature and insistence on playing and producing their own music long before the "indie" movement. After two self-released LPs, Arrogance won national label contracts, recording albums for Vanguard and Warner/Curb. Their catalog also includes a live album documenting their 1981 tour and a 2002 release on GAFF.

Arrogance played to packed houses from Virginia to Georgia, becoming the most popular band in North Carolina from the mid '70s into the early '80s. Disbanding in 1983 to pursue separate interests, Arrogance reunited in 2000 to enthusiastic crowds for two sold-out shows and have been playing ever since.

The influence of the band is felt throughout the jangle/pop rock genre. Recognized as an NC Legend, they performed at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Benefit Concert in September. Some of the bands inspired by Arrogance are the Connells, the dB's, Let's Active, and the X-teens. The band's influence continued through Don Dixon's production work with such groups as REM, the Smithereens, Guadalcanal Diary, Hootie & the Blowfish, Chris Stamey, Marshall Crenshaw, Matthew Sweet, and the Reivers.

Event happens May 23-25...

By Blurt Staff

Just announced: the 2009 edition of the Sasquatch! Music Festival, which takes place this year on May 23-25 at the Gorge amphitheatre near Quincy, Washington.

For the 8^th annual installment Jane's Addiction, the Kings of Leon, Ben Harper and Nine Inch Nails will be among the top names slated to perform. Others include TV On the Radio, Animal Collective, Decemberists, Of Montreal, the Avett Brothers and Calexico, while the comedians announced thus far are Zach Galifiankas, Demetri Martin, Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job, Todd Barry, Jon Benjamin, God's Pottery and People's Republic of Komedy. See below for the full list of performers.

Tickets go on sale Feb. 28. See: SasquatchFestival.com.

Meanwhile, go HERE if you want to read our review (when we were called Harp) of the 2007 festival. We missed the 2008 event due to being in the middle of the Harp-to-BLURT transition, but we'll see you at Sasquatch! this year....

2009 Roster of Performers:

Jane's Addiction
Kings of Leon
Nine Inch Nails
Ben Harper & Restless7
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Erykah Badu
The Decemberists
Fleet Foxes
TV on the Radio
Animal Collective
Silversun Pickups
Bon Iver
Santigold
Of Montreal
Explosions in the Sky
DeVotchKa
Peter Bjorn & John
Gogol Bordello
M. Ward
The Avett Brothers
Doves
Calexico
Grizzly Bear
M83
Girl Talk
The Gaslight Anthem
The Walkmen
Chromeo (DJ set)
Deadmau5
Mugison
Sun Kil Moon
Airborne Toxic Event
Blitzen Trapper
Shearwater
BLK JKS
The Wrens
Tobacco
Monotonix
King Khan and the Shrines
St. Vincent
Passion Pit
John Vanderslice
Bishop Allen
Blind Pilot
AA Bondy
Black Moth Super Rainbow
The Knux
Ra Ra Riot
The Dodos
Beach House
Arthur & Yu
The Submarines
Owl City
Viva Voce
James Pants
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
The Builders & the Butchers
The Duchess & the Duke
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele
Fences
School of Seven Bells
Death Vessel
Horse Feathers
Hockey
Point Juncture WA
The Pica Beats
Loch Lomond
Vince Mira
Zach Galifiankis
Demetri Martin
Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job
Todd Barry
John Benjamin
God's Pottery
People's Republic of Komedy

Lost Cathedral imprint bows with Crown of Thorns.

By Blurt Staff

Little Steven Van Zandt - that's "Little Steven" to pals; Silvio to Sopranos buffs; Miami Steve to aging E Street Band fans -adds another imprint to his rock and roll adventures with the launch of Lost Cathedral.  The new label will focus on hard  rock releases and will debut with the latest offering from internationally acclaimed rock band Crown of Thorns titled Faith in stores May 14.  The disc marks Crown of Thorns' first domestic release in the United States ever in the band's career.

"Wicked Cool was formed as a Garage Rock label - traditional Rock and Roll - so when people see Wicked Cool they know what kind of music to expect," Van Zandt said in a statement. "Hard Rock is Garage Rock's first cousin having come directly from the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Yardbirds, and the Who and we've been getting a lot of harder stuff sent to us lately, a lot of it quite good. With the opportunity to release the legendary Crown of Thorns new record , we decided it's time for a new label."

Lost Cathedral takes music fans out of the garage and into the arena where musicianship and bigger production is king.  Lost Cathedral will be run by the same executive team responsible for sister label Wicked Cool Records led by Chairman and Founder  Van Zandt; Jean Beauvoir, CEO, Renegade Nation; John Luongo, Label Manager; and Scott Hueston, VP Sales & Marketing. 

Beauvoir does double duty not only as a label executive but as a creative force as singer/songwriter/producer of Crown of Thorns' new release Faith.  The disc brings back the trademark Crown of Thorns sound that established the band as a rock powerhouse, still keeping intact all the elements of infectious guitar riffs, soaring hooklines, and great melodies. Beauvoir collaborated with Bob Clearmountain (Bryan Adams, Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band) in the recording sessions for Faith as well as Mark Plati (David Bowie) for the mix -- resulting in the best sounding Crown of Thorns album yet.

Van Zandt's growing rock world includes his role as host of  Little Steven's Underground Garage, the most successful syndicated rock radio show in the country,  now in over 200 markets with over 1 million weekly listeners. An extension of the weekly show, the Underground Garage Channel 25 on SIRIUS Satellite Radio plays the best of all 60 years of Rock and Roll 24 hours a day featuring the best new Rock and Roll worldwide. Steven is also the creator and executive producer of the Outlaw Country Channel 63 and The Wiseguy Show on SIRIUS. 

In addition to his radio ventures, Van Zandt heads Wicked Cool Records, dedicated to exposing the best garage rock bands in the world.  The label's roster includes The Chesterfield Kings; The Cocktail Slippers; The Len Price 3, The Woggles, The Stabilisers, The Urges, The Chevelles, Jarvis Humby, The Breakers, The Contrast, Outrageous Cherry, The Grip Weeds, Maggots, Hawaii Mud Bombers, and Beat Tornados.  The label also releases the critically acclaimed compilation series Coolest Songs In The World.

Also delivers exclusive Rhapsody live session.

By Blurt Staff

Suicide Squeeze Records has just dropped the vinyl release of Minus the Bear's Acoustics, an exclusive seven-track EP. Acoustics couples newly recorded acoustic versions of favorites from the Seattle quintet's career with a new track entitled, Guns & Ammo.

Originally released as a tour-only CD - during the band's 2008 headlining tour - this is the first time Acoustics will be available on vinyl, in stores, anywhere.  Limited to 5000 copies pressed to baby-blue/crème wax. 

Track Listing for Acoustics EP:

Guns & Ammo
We Are Not a Football
Team Burying
 Luck Knights Pachuca Sunrise
Throwin' Shapes Ice Monster

***

Minus the Bear also recorded a recent live set - from Seattle's Showbox, SODO - for Rhapsody's Originals. You can check out the session here:

mp3.rhapsody.com/minus-the-bear/rhapsody-original

Track List for Minus the Bear on Rhapsody: 

 
Dr. L'Ling' 
Throwin' Shapes
 The Fix   
Memphis and 53rd

Meanwhile, about that Blurt interview from a few months ago...

By Blurt Staff

This just in from NME.com: the Kings of Leon are being "driven out" of Nashville because British fans travel to their hometown, track down their houses, and leave "scary" gifts and, uh, stuff for them.

Speaking to the UK media, Caleb Followill explained, "My cousin, who looks after the house, hides them [the presents] from me - he said I'd be scared. There is an apartment complex across the street and there are people renting the place out and watching."

Continued the NME: The fans have even discovered the whereabouts of the Followills' "hard to find" family home. "We pulled up and by the mailbox were two girls in go-go boots, little outfits, just waiting."

Waiting to do WHAT?

Meanwhile, remember that article titled "Runway" on the Kings that we ran in the November digital issue of BLURT? The one where Followill went on and on the ups and downs of screwing beautiful, coke-addicted models? The one where, er, our interviewer basically kept feeding Followill enough rope so he looked more ridiculous by the word? ‘nuf said.

At any rate, you can also read our review of the Kings' latest album Only By The Night -"[they've] jumped the shark," advised our critic - HERE.

... and in one legal ruling, instant eBay collectibles are created!

By Blurt Staff

This just in... sharp-eyed BLURT readers may recall that back when we were known as Harp magazine we ran a kind of hands-on tutorial for Hendrix Electric Vodka...

***

Seattle-based Experience Hendrix, L.L.C. and Authentic Hendrix, LLC, owners of Jimi Hendrix music, trademarks and licensing rights, won a key legal victory in the trademark infringement case against Craig Dieffenbach and Electric Hendrix Spirits, LLC.

 
Experience Hendrix and Authentic Hendrix filed a lawsuit in 2007 charging that Dieffenbach and his companies had infringed on Jimi Hendrix trademarks in an unauthorized, tasteless promotion of "Hendrix Electric" brand of vodka.

 
United States District Court Judge Zilly today entered a $3,200,000 judgment against Dieffenbach and his companies for their unlawful conduct.

 
The Court also permanently enjoined Mr. Dieffenbach and his companies from commercially using any Jimi Hendrix products and directed that all their distributors and licensees immediately pull the vodka and other infringing products from the market and cease all related advertising.  

 
"We are gratified that justice has been served. Mr. Dieffenbach has been held accountable for his unlawful actions and prohibited from ever again infringing our Jimi Hendrix trademarks," said Janie Hendrix, CEO of Experience Hendrix. "This judgment recognizes our family's long-standing commitment to preserve the Jimi Hendrix legacy and artistic vision."

 
This Federal enforcement action began in March 2007, when Experience Hendrix and Authentic Hendrix charged Dieffenbach and his companies with gross infringement against Jimi Hendrix trademarks and related property rights. Experience Hendrix alleged that Dieffenbach intended to deceive the public into believing that the Jimi Hendrix family companies had authorized the sale of vodka and other infringing products. This victory is a complete vindication of Experience Hendrix and Authentic Hendrix's exclusive ownership of Jimi Hendrix music, trademarks and licensing rights.

Venerable label to restructure, concentrate on its back catalog.

By Fred Mills

Shock waves are rippling through the indie music sector at this very moment as word gets out about venerable Chicago label Touch and Go's impending restructuring and/or scaling back which will result in them shutting down their manufacturing and distribution business (and, possibly, no longer seeking out and releasing new music).

For nearly 20 years now the label has distributed a slew of the most popular U.S. indies, including Merge, Drag City, Jade Tree and Kill Rock Stars In a statement issued by label owner Corey Rusk this morning, he explained, "Titles from [those] labels populate the shelves of our warehouse alongside the titles on our own two labels, Touch and Go Records and Quarterstick Records. Unfortunately, as much as we love all of these labels, the current state of the economy has reached the point where we can no longer afford to continue this lesser known yet important part of Touch and Go's operations. Over the years, these labels have become part of our family, and it pains us to see them go. We wish them all the very best and we will be doing everything we can to help make the transition as easy as possible.

"Touch and Go will be returning to its roots and focusing solely on being an independent record label. We'll be busy for a few months working closely with the departing labels and scaling our company to an appropriate smaller size after their departure. It is the end of a grand chapter in Touch and Go's history, but we also know that good things can come from new beginnings."

Chicago Sun-Times music critic Jim DeRogatis, in a report filed earlier today, added that the label will "continue releasing recordings from its own storied catalog... but it's unclear whether the label will release new recordings from younger up-and-coming bands."

Meanwhile, when Pitchfork reported on the story, the label apparently clarified its position, telling Pitchfork that it "hopes to once again release new music at some point in the future, once the dust has settled from the restructuring brought about by the shuttering of its distribution arm."

Music industry monitor Billboard indicated that the announcement this morning came "as a complete surprise to everyone on staff" at Touch and Go, quoting sources there as saying, "Last week we were talking about SXSW, and now this has happened" and "It was business as usual on Friday, then I called in to a meeting on Monday and was told about the layoffs," adding that 20 staffers face job cuts. They'll reportedly work for six weeks, then the label will operate with a skeleton crew through the end of the year as it determines what to do next.

Finally, someone acknowledges that Coldplay is shite....

By Fred Mills

With 4 nominations for Coldplay yielding zip but similarly-nominated Duffy taking home three trophies, the annual BRIT Awards concluded last night in London.

 Duffy's sweep included Best Album, Best British Female and Best British Breakthrough. Other notables: Paul Weller, Best British Male Solo; Girls Aloud (who?), Best Single; Elbow, Best British Group; Iron Maiden, Best Live Group; Kanye West, Best International Male; and Katy Perry, Best International Female.

The Kings Of Leon, inexplicably, nabbed both the Best International Album and Best International Group awards, helping - despite the sensible treatment of Coldplay - to restore the image of British awards ceremonies being essentially vapid, clueless and meaningless.

Go HERE for the full list of winners.

Yer damn right the world needs another Wilco book!

By Fred Mills

There are already a couple of nigh-on-essential books about Wilco out there: Greg Kot's in-depth biography Learning How to Die and the official photo/scrapbook volume The Wilco Book, both from 2004. And fans needing even more of a Wilco fix probably picked up frontman Jeff Tweedy's poetry collection, Adult Head, not to mention filmmaker Sam Jones' acclaimed 2003 documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco.

Now, though, comes yet another treatement: Wilco: The Essential Interviews, due May 12 from Rock Reader Books/Lulu. Compiled and edited by U.S. music writer John Luerssen, it purports to collect "the most significant and revelatory media interactions of the band's first thirteen years."

Spanning the years from 1995 to 2008, Wilco: The Essential Interviews covers the group on its "journey from cult favorites to international stars" and leads all the way up to last year's our of Australia. "An ideal setting for Tweedy's band to tell its own unique and intricate story," advises the publisher, "this book highlights Wilco's many accomplishments and houses the most candid and noteworthy discussions of the group's career."

Well, all right then!

 Interestingly, though it won't be in stores or at traditional online retailers until May, the book is available for advance purchase and immediate delivery directly from the publisher:

http://www.lulu.com/content/6074935

By Blurt Staff

Meanwhile, in addition to the Wilco book we told you about, oh, 3 minutes ago, word arrives that with a live Wilco DVD, Ashes of American Flags, due on April 18 from Nonesuch, the band will be embarking upon an April-May tour of selected venues in the U.S. and Spain (plus a high-profile slot at this year's Bonnaroo). A handful of Jeff Tweedy solo dates will precede the band tour.

Tour Dates:

3-26 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground (Jeff Tweedy solo) *
3-27 Northampton, MA - Calvin Theatre (Jeff Tweedy solo) *
3-28 Beacon, NY - Beacon High Auditorium (Jeff Tweedy solo) (Benefit for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater)
4-14 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre
4-15 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre
4-16 Bloomington, IN - IU Auditorium
4-17 Athens, OH - Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium
4-18 Knoxville, TN - Tennessee Theatre
4-20 Athens, GA - Classic Center
4-21 Asheville, NC - Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
4-22 Birmingham, AL - Sloss Furnaces
4-23 Oxford, MS - Lyric Oxford
4-25 New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
5-23 Tenerife, Spain - Tenerife Auditorium
5-25 Malaga, Spain - Teatro Cervantes !
5-26 Madrid, Spain - Teatro Calderon !
5-29 Seville, Spain - Territorios Festival, La Cartuja
5-30 Oporto-Braga, Portugal - Teatro Circo
5-31 Lisbon, Portugal - Lisbon Coliseu
6-01 Santiago de Compostela-Galicia, Spain - Palacio de Congresos, Sala Braque
6-03 San Sebastian, Spain - Kursaal
6-04 Barcelona, Spain - Auditori Barcelona
7-11-14 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Festival
7-22-25 Detroit Lakes, MN - 10,000 Lakes Festival
8-21 Erfurt-Hohenfelden, Denmark - Highfield Festival

* with Pronto
! with Akron/Family

[Photo Credit: Mary Ellen Matthews]

Plug Awards' Female Artist Of The Year Confirms Two Sxsw Performances, March 18 And 20

By Blurt Staff

On May 5, 4AD will release 'Actor' the new album by St. Vincent (nee Annie Clark), and the follow-up to her first album 'Marry Me,' one of the most acclaimed debuts of 2007. 'Actor' was co-produced by Clark and John Congleton (Modest Mouse, Polyphonic Spree etc...) and features eleven new songs, all written and arranged by Clark.

'Actor' takes the ambitious compositional and sonic underpinnings of Clark's debut as a starting point and never looks back. The arrangements are more masterful, the songwriting grander, the performances ever more confident and inspired. "I wanted to make these songs technicolor animatronic rides," says Clark.

Clark, "a playful chanteuse [and] fearsome shredder" (NY Times), sings and plays guitar, bass and keys on 'Actor,' with woodwind contributions from Hideaki Aomori (Sufjan Stevens) and Alex Sopp (Bjork, Phillip Glass), and additional rhythm section work by McKenzie Smith and Paul Alexander of Midlake. Other musicians on the album include Mike Atkinson (French horn, score consultant), Daniel Hart (violin, sarongi), William Flynn (bass), and percussionists Jeff Ryan, Matthias Bossi, and Aynsley Powell.

St. Vincent will preview songs from 'Actor' with two shows at this year's South by Southwest conference in Austin: Wednesday, March 18 at the Central Presbyterian Church as part of the 4AD showcase, and Friday, March 20 at Antone's as part of the Billions Corporation showcase. Clark will also tour the U.S. this year with Bonnaroo and Sasquatch! Festival performances already confirmed and a full itinerary to be announced soon.

The first St. Vincent album 'Marry Me' earned widespread praise - including a memorable 2008 article in The New York Times Magazine - and heralded the arrival of "a bewitching entertainer who demands every second of your attention" (Chicago Tribune). Clark toured extensively in support of 'Marry Me' with artists like The National, Death Cab for Cutie, and Arcade Fire, and was named Female Artist of the Year at the 2008 PLUG Independent Music Awards. Before recording as St. Vincent, Annie Clark was a member of The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens' touring band, and performed with Glenn Branca's guitar orchestra.

New album due May 5 on Merge.

By Blurt Staff

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band have announced the impending release of a new album. Titled Outer South and due May 5 from Merge, it was recorded last Nov/Dec near El Paso. Joining the Bright Eyes frontman are Nik Freitas (guitar), Taylor Hollingsworth (guitar), Macey Taylor (bass), Nate Walcott (trumpet) and Jason Boesel (drums). The band will also be doing a short western tour in April.

According to Oberst's website, "Outer South is a spectacular 16-track album featuring songs written by Oberst, Boesel, Freitas, and Hollingsworth, some of which were part of the live show from late last year including "Nikorette" which they performed on Late Night With Conan O'Brien in November." See below for the video clip.

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band Tour Dates:

(April)
9 Omaha, NE - Slowdown  
10 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre 
11 Aspen, CO Belly Up 
12 El Paso, TX  Barnett Harley Davidson (Hands of Love & Hope Benefit) 
13 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theatre  
14 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
15 Pomona, CA Glass House  
17 Indio, CA Coachella Music & Arts Festival
18 Telluride, CO Telluride Bluegrass Festival

Legendary singer passed away Dec. 2.

By Fred Mills

The magnificent folksinger and mover/shaker of the civil rights movement Odetta passed away on Dec. 2. Now word arrives that a free, public memorial will be held for the late icon next Tuesday, Feb. 24, in NYC. Among the performers and dignitaries scheduled to appear are Steve Earle, Maya Angelou, Pete Seeger, and Harry Belafonte.

See below for details, and meanwhile, you can read more about her HERE.

***

Odetta Memorial Celebration: In Words & Song

WHO:       David Amram, Maya Angelou, Harry Belafonte, Oscar Brand, Tom Chapin, Guy Davis, Ruby Dee, Steve Earle, Wavy Gravy, Geoffrey Holder, Holmes Bros. w/  Seth Farber, Maria Muldaur & Marie Knight, Emory Joseph, Bernice Reagon, Sonia Sanchez, Pete Seeger, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Josh White, Jr., and Peter Yarrow & the Brooklyn Tech Chorus.   More special guests to follow, in addition to video tributes.

WHAT:     Celebration of the life and career of ODETTA, "The Voice of the Civil

                     Rights Movement" (December 31, 1930 - December 2, 2008)   

WHERE:  RIVERSIDE CHURCH, 490 Riverside Drive (at 121st Street), New

                     York, New York 10027.  Tele:  212-870-6700

WHEN:   Tuesday, February 24th at 7:00 pm.  (Doors open at 6:00 pm) 

Odetta was a transformational musical artist of the 20th Century, and "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement." In a career that spanned more than sixty years, she was the first major influence on the careers of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Janis Joplin.  Free to the public, the Memorial Celebration will include video highlights of Odetta's life, in addition to song performances and words of remembrance presented by celebrated artists who knew and worked with Odetta.   "If only one could be sure that every 50 years a voice and a soul like Odetta's would come along, the centuries would pass so quickly and painlessly we would hardly recognize time."    (Maya Angelou)   

Set to get Blood-y on April 28...

By Blurt Staff

Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band's Brother's Blood will be released April 28 via Favorite Gentlemen Recordings. The first for the label and the fifth album overall for the songwriter, the LP furthers his adventures in exploring new stylistic territory and reflects the diverse talent and contributions of his musical handymen, The Goddamn Band.

Testament to Devine's sonic ambidexterity, Brother's Blood showcases the Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter's versatility and range, one that has afforded him the unique privilege of capturing the hearts of fans of a variety of genres. Case in point, in the last two years he's played nearly 600 shows with a dizzying mix of artists ranging from Rachel Yamagata to She & Him and the All-American Rejects to Manchester Orchestra. That's in addition to his packed-out headline gigs and his guest appearances with friends Brand New and Okkervil River during their individual sets at Lollapalooza 2008.

Just as much as Devine loves the road he has an equal fondness for the studio, and in the midst of all his globetrotting, he cooked up Brother's Blood. A confident mission statement about conscience, culture and personality, the album is resounding evidence of his impressive maturation as musician. Recorded at Williamsburg Headgear Studios with his Goddamn Band (Brian Bonz on keys & percussion, Chris Bracco on bass, Mike Skinner on drums, Russell Smith on guitar, and Mike Strandberg on guitar), Devine deliberately ceded more control of arrangement to his players, hoping to affect a more live, full-band feel for the first time on record. 

Lead single "I Could Be With Anyone" is a charging and hook-heavy pop song equally indebted to The Cars and Superchunk while the title track is a massive and dynamic song fueled by epic guitar freakouts in the vein of Neil Young and Built To Spill. Meanwhile, opener "All Of Everything, Erased" shows off Devine's quieter side as he lays a bed of nimble and rhythmic finger-picking and vividly describes a world fed up with humanity. "Fever Moon" is a sultry, Latin-influenced meditation on lust and its consequences that wouldn't seem out of place on a 1970s Leonard Cohen album.

While Devine and co. are gearing back up for the road, they'll offer a sneak peak into the new material this March at SXSW. They will celebrate the album's arrival with a hometown show at NYC's Bowery Ballroom Friday, April 24 with a full headline tour to follow shortly after.

[Photo Credit: Andreas Hornoff]

Soliciting patrons for their next album...

By Fred Mills

North Carolina's resident British Invasion, powerpopsters The Spongetones are wrapping up work on their 12^th album, and it's set to be a corker, as our friends in England might put it. Titled Scrambled Eggs, it's got a dozen tuneful, er, tunes, ranging, as the band tells us, "from sweet ("Inevitable you") to lustful ("Lost Weekend"); slow (‘She'll Be Gone" to hard and fast ("Talking Around It') and even one collaboration by all three songwriters ("It Can't Go On Forever")."

The band: Steve Stoeckel, Jamie Hoover, Patrick Walters and Rob Thorne. Good guys, all, trust us. ‘What to call this record?" said Hoover. "Scrambled Eggs is a good temporary name," said Walters. "That's better than the title you had yesterday," added Thorne. Ergo: Scrambled Eggs.

According to the Spongetones, they enlisted the help of patrons for their last two records, and they'd like to extend the you-scratch-our-back-we'll-scratch-yours again. The deal is: For 25.00, you get a CD with your name in the credits, autographed by all four members, mailed to you before the general release later this spring.

Interested parties can go to THIS PAYPAL LINK for Hoover and fill out the necessary info. Trust us, you'll be glad you did.

How much did YOU lose on the Brits?

By Fred Mills

Here's a news nugget you don't run across every day: bookmakers in Britain are apparently £100,000 as of yesterday in the wake of Paul Weller's surprise win at this week's annual Brit Awards for Best British Solo Male Artist. This comes on the heels of other recent news that all Brit Award gambling was halted by key UK bookie agencies when, according to NME.com, "a flurry of suspicious bets on Weller winning were place dwithin a short space of time of each other" leading up to the awards ceremony.

Speculation is that some gamblers were tipped off in advance about Weller's win, and as a spokesperson for the bookies told reporters, "It was our music department's worst night for years. It's highly unlikely we'll be betting on the Brits again as there is no doubt the results are circulating up to a week before.The fact Paul's interview was pre-recorded suggests people had been tipped off."

Bookies have spokespersons? Who knew!

Speaking of spokespersons, one for the Brits defended their institution, saying, "Every precaution is taken to keep results under lock and key."

Meanwhile, Weller's current whereabouts are unknown. Hopefully he's not passed out in the streets of Prague again....

Incredibly gifted journalist wrote for scores of top music publications.

By Fred Mills

Sad news in the rock critic community today: veteran journalist Rickey Wright, who suffered a massive stroke recently, has passed away. He was 45. A record collector/archivist, radio deejay and music editor for Amazon.com, Wright was originally from the east coast but in recent years lived in Seattle and had written for numerous high-profile publications including The Village Voice, Seattle Weekly, USA Today and Blender. Plans are to fly his body back to Norfolk, VA, where the funeral will be held.

In a message sent out to friends and family, Wright's aunt (and nurse) Deborah Ebel wrote, "This loss is tragic. Fortunately, Rickey was able to pursue and achieve his dreams. His interest in music was evident from a very early age and has always continued, unabated. His presence in so many lives has been uniquely meaningful and has brought joy to many. I believe sincerely that we should celebrate his life. Rickey would like that."

Journalist/blogger Ned Raggett has a very touching remembrance of Wright HERE. Meanwhile, you can read Wright's own blog, "All The Magic," HERE. And a Facebook memorial page has been set up for Wright HERE, and you can learn more details about Wright as well as the funeral and how to contact the family. As one current posting reads, "I can't believe our Geekus Musicus Maximus is gone. The music world lost a great writer today. And we all lost a good friend. So sad. Rickey, you are truly one-of-a-kind."

Wright, incidentally, was also a contributor to BLURT predecessor Harp magazine from 2003-04 and therefore he was part of our extended family. You can find an archive of his Harp writings here. Our deepest condolences to Wright's own family and friends.

By Blurt Staff

5-song set released on CDEP and digital on April 7.

In addition to playing Coachella in April, Superchunk will release their first new material on CD since 2001's Here's to Shutting Up! Titled Leaves in the Gutter, it is a collection of songs written while Superchunk prepared for live shows over the past few years.

In a statement, Mac McCaughan said, "Some of these songs are newer than others, but we kind of felt like if we're going to get to work on a new album we need to clear the decks of these songs first. A couple of them I really like but they already feel like they're from another era and wouldn't fit on a new album anyway, and the newer ones are from the new era but we've recorded them and they sound good so here they are. Now, when we play them live, someone might have actually heard them before!"

Track Listing:

1. Learned to Surf

2. Misfits & Mistakes

3. Screw It Up

4. Knock Knock Knock

5. Learned to Surf (acoustic demo) 

Happens March 20... The Silver Apples are considered American roots music now? Let's hear it for synthesizers!

By Blurt Staff

The 4th annual Ponderosa Stomp showcase at SXSW will once again showcase the proverbial "bedrocks of American music who will blow your mind in a night of wild rock and roll." Anyone who has attended one, or been to the full blowout in New Orleans later in the year, will tell ya that. Full details below.

***

WHO: Confirmed performers include Barbara Lynn, Silver Apples, The Elite, Roy Head, Floyd Dakil, Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves, Floyd Dakil, The Elite, The Excels, Little Joe Washington, Lil' Buck Senegal, Classie Ballou, Huelyn Duvall, and Eve and The Exiles

WHAT: Fourth Annual Ponderosa Stomp SXSW Showcase

WHEN: Friday, March 20th, 2009

WHERE: The Continental Club, 1315 S Congress Ave., Austin

On March 20th SXSW will host its fourth annual Ponderosa Stomp showcase at the Continental Club in Austin, TX. P-Stomp curator Ira Padnos has assembled an incredible lineup for the Stomp Revue. Highlights include Barbara Lynn, whose hit "Oh Baby (We've Got A Good Thing Goin')" was covered by The Rolling Stones; "Treat Her Right" wild man Roy Head; legendary garage acts The Elite and Floyd Dakil; and enigmatic psych pioneers Silver Apples. "One of Rolling Stone's top 5 radio stations the in the country, New Orleans' WWOZ, will air a live broadcast from the venue. 

Committed to sharing "rock's secret history" (Wall Street Journal), The Ponderosa Stomp continues to carry out its mission of giving the unsung heroes of rockabilly, soul, funk, gospel, blues, rhythm and blues, and garage rock their due. Other artists scheduled to appear include Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves who will perform with Barbara Lynn; Dallas / Fort Worth garage legends The Elite and The Excels; blues guitar maulers Little Joe Washington, Lil' Buck Senegal, and Classie Ballou; classic Texas rockabilly from Huelyn Duvall; and Austin band Eve and The Exiles.

In addition, Dr. Ira "Dr. Ike" Padnos will appear on a panel entitled Music Festivals: Risks & Rewards, March 19 at 3:30pm at the Austin Convention Center, Room 15. Also, Roy Head, backed by The Bo-Keys, will do a set at Little Steven's Underground Garage Party at Antone's (213 W 5th St.) that afternoon.

Of 2006's SXSW showcase, the Austin American-Statesman declared, "If there was another set during the whole SXSW with more passion, sweat, commitment, resonance and sheer, unalloyed fun, I'd like to know what it was." In 2007, the Austin Chronicle proclaimed that the Stomp showcase "proved that not only are these artists still vital, they move audiences in ways that others can't."

This year's eighth annual Ponderosa Stomp Festival will be held April 28th and 29th at the House of Blues in New Orleans. Jon Pareles of The New York Times called the Ponderosa Stomp "a party on its way to becoming an institution," while The LA Times' Steve Hochman called it "a wail of a time." The Ponderosa Stomp continues to elevate some of America's most pioneering performers by bringing their names back into the spotlight and creating incredible, once-in-a-lifetime on-stage collaborations.

For more on Ponderosa Stomp and to see the full and amazing 2009 lineup visit: http://www.ponderosastomp.com/ponderosa_stomp_8.php

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

Friday, February 20:

10:00 VH1 Classic: Behind the Music

11:30 CBS David Letterman: Mike Birbiglia, Shemekia Copeland

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Chris Isaak

12:00 Sundance: Montery Pop

12:05 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: Kinky

12:30 CBS Craig Ferguson: The Knux

12:30 NBC Conan O'Brien: White Stripes

Saturday, February 21:

12:00 noon: Sundance:  Live From Abbey Road: Brian Wilson, Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson

12:30 VH1 Classic: Krush Groove

9:00 PBS Austin City Limits: Kings of Leon + Roky Erickson

10:00 VH1 Classic: Marvin Gaye In Performance

Sunday, February 22:

12:00 noon Sundance: Spectacle: Elvis Costello w/Diana Krall & Elton John

2:00 - 8:00 VH1 Classic: Soul Deep

3:45 HD Net: Todd Rundgren: The Arena Tour

5:10 HD Net: The Hives - Live From Terminal 5 in New York

6:30 HD Net: Backstreet Boys - Live From The O2 Arena, London

8:00 & 1:00 HD Net: Robyn - Live from the Wiltern, Los Angeles

8:00 ABC: The Oscars

8:00 VH1 Classic: The Temptations

9:00 HD Net: Black Eyed Peas - Live from Sydney to Vegas

10:20 HD Net: Jessica Simpson - Reality Tour Live

12:00 VH1 Classic: Wattstax

12:05 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: Robin Thicke

Monday, February 23:

7:30 Sundance: Monterey Pop

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: John Legend

12:00 Sundance: Spectacle: Elvis Costello w/Diana Krall & Elton John

12:00 VH1 Classic: Metallica Some Kinf of Monster

12:05 ABC JImmy Kimmel: Jonas Brothers, Darius Rucker

12:35 NBC Conan O'Brien: Nikka Costa

Heading out for two months starting in April.

By Blurt Staff

With the final notes of last night's Leonard Cohen concert in NYC still ringing in our ears, we've just gotten word, courtesy the bard's website, of the itinerary for that North American tour we previously told you about. It starts in Austin in early April and is set to run for two solid months, wrapping June 2 at Red Rocks. No details about on-sale dates for tickets have been released yet, but it wouldn't hurt to sign up for the Cohen mailing list at the site - things like this, increasingly, involve pre-sales for registered fans.

Meanwhile, keep your eyes peeled next week at the BLURT site for an exclusive eyewitness report on the Feb. 19 concert.

Details on his forthcoming live CD/DVD set can be found previously at BLURT right HERE.

Tour Dates:

4-02 Austin, TX - Michael and Susan Dell Hall at Long Center
4-03 Grand Prarie, TX - Nokia Theatre at Grand Prarie
4-05 Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre
4-07 San Diego, CA - Copley Symphony Hall
4-10 Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theatre L.A. Live
4-13 Oakland, CA - Paramount Theatre of the Arts
4-17 Indio, CA - Coachella Festival
4-19 Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place
4-21 Victoria, British Columbia - Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
4-23 Seattle, WA - WaMu Theater at Qwest FieldEvents Center
4-25 Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
4-26 Calgary, Alberta - EPCOR Centre's Jack Singer Hall
4-28 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Credit Union Centre
4-30 Winnipeg, Manitoba - MTS Centre
5-03 Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
5-05 Chicago, IL - The Chicago Theatre
5-09 Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
5-11 Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion
5-12 Philadelphia, PA - Academy of Music
5-14 Waterbury, CT - Palace Theater
5-16 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
5-19 Hamilton, Ontario - Copps Coliseum
5-21 Quebec City, Quebec - Pavillon de la Jeunesse
5-22 Kingston, Ontario - K-Rock Centre
5-24 London, Ontario - John Labatt Centre
5-25 Ottowa, Ontario - National Arts Centre, Southam Hall
5-29 Boston, MA - Wang Theatre
6-02 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Bringing that big-boy rock to North America after having to cancel a number of shows last September due to illness in the band.

By Blurt Staff

"Hiya, We're able to announce the dates of our next North American tour..."

Hiya, indeed: that's Mogwai, at their MySpace page blog, unveiling plans to invade the U.S. starting in mid April and running for a month before wrapping in L.A. There are some intriguing stops in such non-major-market cities as Salt Lake City, Omaha, Buffalo, Birmingham and Asheville (the latter makes BLURT especially happy since that's where our southern bureau is located), which we think should be a trend to be encouraged; far to many upper-tier indie bands feel like they should only play the hotspots like NYC, Philly, D.C., Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Phoenix, L.A. and Seattle as they make their way across the country.

It's doubly nice to get this news since, as you can read further down in the MySpace blog posts, the band had to cancel much of their fall 2008 North American tour due to problems that drummer Martin Bulloch was having with his pacemaker. Here's hoping the lad is fit as a fiddle and raring to go.

Mogwai Tour Dates:

4-20 Houston, TX - Numbers
4-21 New Orleans, LA - Republic
4-22 Birmingham, AL - Workplay Theatre
4-23 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
4-24 Carrboro, NC - Cats Cradle
4-25 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
4-27 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
4-28 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
4-29 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
5-01 Boston, MA - Wilbur Theatre
5-02 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
5-03 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
5-04 Toronto, Ontario - Phoenix
5-05 Buffalo, NY - Tralf Music Hall
5-06 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
5-08 Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
5-09 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
5-10 Minneapolis, MN- First Avenue
5-11 Omaha, NE - The Slowdown
5-12 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre
5-13 Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue
5-15 San Diego, CA - Belly Up Tavern
5-16 Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre

Coincidence? We think NOT. But it might just be savvy marketing, too.

By Fred Mills

Head over to the U2 cubicle at MySpace Music and you can hear the new album No Line on the Horizon currently being streamed in its entirety. It started today, Feb. 20 and is, obviously, intended to whet fans' appetites ahead of the record's official March 3 release date.

BLURT is listening to it at this very moment and our opinion is... mixed, as some tunes, such as "Magnificent," sound like classic widescreen U2, while others, most notably first single "Get On Your Boots," sound very insubstantial and too overtly a bid for mainstream airplay. Decide for yourself. Watch out for those popup ads that ping ya after every couple of songs and halt the music player until you click "continue."

Certainly this - the streaming - was planned out well in advance during meetings on how to market the album, or at least we assume that's the case. But it's ironic that it comes on the heels of the entire album getting linked to the internet this week. Despite the expected massive security precautions put in by U2 and their label, Universal, to ensure that it did not leak (for example, reviewers were forced to attend listening parties rather than get advance copies), it's out there in pristine digital format for your downloading pleasure if you know where to look.

According to a report at Forbes.com, Universal's Australian branch accidentally started selling downloads of the album on Tuesday at their digital store, Getmusic.au. The error was discovered after a couple of hours, but by then the genie was out of the bottle and the files started zipping around the web like in a Roadrunner cartoon. Forbes raises the speculation that this was either a "colossal blunder or a marketing ploy to get fans talking," but naturally, nobody at the label or band management is talking.

Er, we doubt any of this is going to hurt record sales. Don't forget, you can buy the album in any of several frugal-to-wallet-busting formats, kids! Meanwhile, the countdown to U2s historic 5-night run at the David Letterman show continues apace. As you've probably heard, they'll have a March 2 -6 residency with Dave....

U2 doing "Get On Your Boots" live at the Brits:

Neil Young and Blur top the rumors for other possible players.

By Fred Mills

With a headlining set for Bonnaroo (June 11-14) already announced, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are now also set to do Britain's annual Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, which takes place June 26-28. He'll be the concluding act on Saturday night for the festival, which is already sold out.

According to the official announcement, posted at the Glastonbury website, Organizer Michael Eavis commented, "I'm so pleased that Bruce Springsteen has agreed to come to Worthy Farm for the first time. He's one of the all-time rock legends and I'm confident that this will be one of our best shows ever. He's also a Barack Obama supporter, which makes two headliners in a row who've backed the new President."

Added daughter Emily Eavis: "I'm knocked out that we've managed to get Bruce to play. It's the icing on the cake of this year's bill, which I'm sure will take everyone's breath away when we announce the full details."

The full list of performers has not yet been announced, but Neil Young and Blur are rumored to be in the running as additional headliners. Franz Ferdinand has already confirmed their appearance, as have Lily Allen, Bon Iver and "Rockstar Bands" winner Major Major. (Who?)

Among the others rumored (can't miss Scouting For Girls!):

BabaJack
BB King
Billy Nasty
Biggles Wartime Band
Bloc Party
Boat Band
Keane
Kanye West
Kaiser Chiefs
Elbow
Lily Allen
Oasis - New Material
Orbital
Arctic Monkeys
The Coral
Fatboy Slim
Madness
The Blockheads
Bodger and Badger
Squeeze
Scouting for Girls
Dj Yoda
Tom Jones
The Summits

Fountains of Wayne + Smashing Pumpkins + Cheap Trick + Hanson = Tinted Windows

By Blurt Staff

The debut, self-titled album by Tinted Windows will be released April 21st on S-Curve Records. Tinted Windows are: Taylor Hanson (lead vocals), James Iha (guitar), Adam Schlesinger (bass), and Bun E. Carlos (drums).

Taylor Hanson is best known as a member of Hanson, the multi-million-selling trio of brothers from Tulsa who have been recording and touring since 1992. James Iha was one of the original members of the Smashing Pumpkins, and has also been a member of A Perfect Circle and a solo artist. Adam Schlesinger is in the bands Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy. Bun E. Carlos is the drummer of the legendary Cheap Trick, with whom he has played since the group's inception in 1974.

The band will be making several appearances at the upcoming South By Southwest Festival in March. They will also perform select club shows starting this spring, and will appear at the Bamboozle festival at New Jersey's Meadowlands. A performance on The Late Show With David Letterman is scheduled for April 20th. More dates will be announced shortly.

Taylor and Adam first crossed paths in the mid-Nineties and stayed friends ever since. "Taylor and I had always talked about trying to do something together," says Schlesinger, "maybe write some songs, or play some shows - something." Meanwhile, James' and Adam's respective bands had toured together, and the two have been collaborating on various projects for years, including guesting on each others' records, producing other groups together, running indie label Scratchie Records and co-owning a recording studio in Manhattan.

James, Adam and Taylor started kicking around the idea of writing and recording some songs that would set Taylor's unmistakable voice against some loud guitars. They also talked about fusing the sounds of power-pop, rock and New Wave of the late 70's and early 80's, which they all loved, with the more modern rock and pop sounds of their own groups. "We talked about everything from from The Buzzcocks to The Knack," says Iha. "And, of course, Cheap Trick."

When discussing possible drummers to round out the group, they thought, according to Taylor, "Who do we know that can play drums like Bun E. Carlos?" They ran through a list of names, before realizing the obvious. Both the Pumpkins and Fountains Of Wayne had shared stages with Cheap Trick over the years. Figuring it was a long shot, but worth a try, they got in touch with Bun E. and asked if they could send him a few song demos. Much to their delight and surprise, he was into it, and agreed to come to New York to work with them. Explains Bun E., "The songs are great and I'm honored to be a part of Tinted Windows."

The result is a stripped-down, high-energy record that combines the strengths and identifiable styles of all four members, and yet doesn't really sound like anything else any of the four has done elsewhere. And with three of the four band members contributing songs, there is a real band vibe in the diversity of the material. They have shot videos for two songs on the album already, with plans to do more in the coming weeks.

S-Curve Founder/CEO Steve Greenberg noted: "When we first heard about Tinted Windows, we were intrigued by the lineup, since we've done projects with most members of the band in the past. But when we heard the music, we were absolutely blown away. This album is going to make a lot of music lovers very happy and we're honored to help bring it to the world."

March-April trek kicks off at SXSW.

By Blurt Staff

Mirah lives in Portland, Oregon, where she works as a songwriter, performer and producer.  In a constant search to expand her tender repertoire of American folk songs into a larger context, her recordings seek to find the magical amity between explorative percussion, orchestral sounds and elements of rock and popular music.  She has been involved with the K Record label since 1999, touring internationally and producing a steady stream of albums.  As previously announced, her new album (a)spera, a soundtrack for the voyage of our entwined destinies, is slated for release on March 10.

Again teaming up with Phil Elverum [The Microphones, Mt. Eerie] for three of the 10 tracks, she also enlisted the engineering prowess of fellow Portlanders Tucker Martine [The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, Laura Veirs] and Adam Selzer [Norfolk and Western, M. Ward] to complete this beautiful voyage. Featured musicians include Chris Funk [of The Decemberists], Tara Jane O'Neil and Lori Goldston.

The album holds many surprises within its undulating reverie. String sections shimmer in the opening track "Generosity" and in the impeccable "Education," a relentless fist pounds against a soundboard in the darkly powerful "The World Is Falling Apart." "Shells" offers a breathtaking vantage of Kane Mathis masterful playing of the mandinka kora, a street party emerges in full swing from the galaxy of Mirah¹s heart in "The Country of the Future," unexpected turns are taken in "The Forest," horns burst forth as quickly as they retreat back into the starscape on "The River." Kalimba, hurdy gurdy, bongos, horns, instruments for all worlds, all times.

(a)spera the album, as well as the Latin from which it takes its name, is hopes and difficulties linked inseparably, as we all are.

03.19 - Austin, TX @ Flamingo Cantina [Team Clermont Day Show]

03.20 - Austin, TX @ KVRX Day Show

03.20 - Austin, TX @ Antone's [Billions Showcase]

04.01 - Anacortes, WA @ Department Of Safety

04.02 - Seattle, WA @ The Vera Project

04.03 - Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore Cabaret

04.04 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater

04.07 - San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo's 365 Club

04.08 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Soho Restaurant and Music Club

04.09 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo

04.10 - Phoenix, AZ @ Modified

04.11 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad

04.12 - Denver, CO @ Hi Dive

04.14 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court

04.15 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux

Deep fried ass shakin' soul comin' to yer town to help you party down...

By Blurt Staff

With latest album What Is?! finally getting a proper domestic release (Vice, April 21st), King Khan and The Shrines are once again set to shock and awe, bringing their frantic brand of psychedelic soul insanity to the youth of America. The kicks off next week and will take them through the heart of the south en route to shows in Austin SXSW, then after taking most of April off the band will resume operations at the end of April for another month-long track across North America, including a stop at the Sasquatch! festival in the heart of Washington state.

As we are advised by their label, "The band left many folks scratching their heads, picking their jaws up off the floor, and tearing up dollar bills as a sign of unity after their first tour of the US last year after mindblowers at the Pitchfork festival and dates all across the country. Most didn't even know what hit them. King Khan and The Shrines are doing it all over again, and everyone will be thankful they did."

BLURT review of last year's The Supreme Genius Of HERE.

King Khan at the BLURT video blog HERE.

Tour dates:


3/06/2009 Harvest of Hope - Elkton, FL
3/07/2009 The Vagabond - Miami, FL
3/08/2009 Wills Pub - Orlando, FL
3/10/2009 Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
3/12/2009 Orange Peel - Asheville, NC
3/13/2009 Exit In - Nashville, TN
3/14/2009 Hi-Tone Café - Memphis, TN
3/15/2009 One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA
3/16/2009 Palladium Loft - Dallas, TX
3/17/2009 The Warhol - San Antonio, TX
3/20/2009 Emo's - Austin, TX (VICE RECORDS SXSW SHOWCASE)
4/29/2009 9:30 Club - Washington, DC
4/30/2009 First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA
5/01/2009 Music Hall of Willamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
5/02/2009 Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ
5/03/3009 Santos Partyhouse - NYC
5/07/2009 Paradise - Boston, Mass
5/08/2009 Babylon - Ottawa, ON
5/09/2009 La Sasa Rossa - Montreal, PQ
5/12/2009 Phoenix Theatre - Toronto, ON
5/13/2009 Magic Stick - Detroit, MI
5/14/2009 Wexner Center - Columbus, OH
5/15/2009 Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL
5/16/2009 Triple Rock - Minneapolis, MN
5/19/2009 The Warehouse - Calgary, AB
5/20/2009 The Starlite Room - Edmonton, AB
5/22/2009 Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
5/23/2009 - Sasquatch Festival - Quincy, WA
5/25/2009 Dante's - Portland, OR
5/28/2009 Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
5/29/2009 Echo - Los Angeles, CA
5/30/2009 Echo - Los Angeles, CA

Also offering stealth advance pre-sale for tour today.

By Fred Mills

Saint Etienne fans got a surprise email over the weekend when the beloved UK dance-popsters announced details of a very special 3-night tour the band will be embarking upon. "We're excited to announce that to celebrate its 18th birthday and special edition re-release, we'll be taking Foxbase Alpha on the road this May," wrote Sarah, Pete and Bob. "We'll be performing all the songs, many of which we've never done live before, plus a set of faves. We've picked non seated venues so you can rock your socks off like its 1991."

Well, all right then! For those not in the know, 1991's Foxbase Alpha was the band's long-playing debut and it found St. E in a transitional mode: Sarah Cracknell only appeared on parts of the record, Moira Lambert handling lead vocals for their hit cover of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," and guitarist Ian Catt was still a main contributor to the group's sound. And as the above note suggests, much of the album's material was never featured in the Saint Etienne live sets, which would soon be dominated by songs from the remarkable second album, 1993's So Tough.

So to say this tour, albeit a brief one, will be a treat for longtime devotees of St. E is an understatement.

A special pre-sale for the Sheffield and London shows is going on right now at this link: gigsandtours.com  . For Glasgow, here's the link:  glasgow ABC . Public on-sale is tomorrow.

Those tour dates:

May 13 - ABC, Glasgow

May 14 - Leadmill, Sheffield

May 16 - Bloomsbury Ballroom, London

***

With the upcoming expanded edition of Foxbase Alpha, the band officially kicks off a reissue program of its back catalog. Speaking recently to Pitchfork, Bob Stanley explained that the CDs will be patterned along the lines of Universal's Deluxe Editions with fold-out digipaks, elaborate artwork and "tons of stuff we never used" including instrumentals, four-track demos, remixes and B-sides.

This all happens in proximity to a new Saint Etienne compilation, the two-CD/DVD London Conversations, details about which can be found HERE, and a new single, "Method of Modern Love," produced by Richard X.

Writes the band, "Thanks to all who bought the single, it turned out to be a tough week in the charts but we'll still get an entry in the next Guinness Book of Hit Singles. Which is important to freaks like us. Hope everyone who pre-ordered London Conversations has got it by now, we're really happy with the way it has turned out. She's beautiful right."

Beautiful indeed, right.

Review of Saint Etienne rarities box Boxette HERE.

Asking the public for any help it can provide in watching out for the stolen gear.

By Fred Mills

We're late in getting this info posted to BLURT (we have an excuse; we're trying to finish up our first print issue), but mighty Daptone Records was burglarized last week and, according to an email from label founder Gabriel Roth, "a lot of equipment [was] stolen and damaged." He's asking people to keep their eyes on eBay and Craigslist in case any of the gear surfaces (rough list below) as well as "deals" on good equipment, as it's likely Daptone will have to replace much or all of it. The label had no insurance on the studio gear.

Well, here's hoping a recovering happens. Meanwhile, below is the email that Roth has circulated. The contact for the label is www.daptonerecords.com , the phone number is 718.366.3849 and the email is info@daptonerecords.com .

***

Friends and associates,

As you may have heard through the grapevine by now, Daptone was broken into last night. Unfortunately, there was a lot of equipment (mics, pre-amps, monitors, turntables, guitars, amps, computers, etc.) stolen and damaged. It is going to take us a while to go through everything and take full stock of what was stolen, and we are not supposed to touch anything until the cops come back to collect fingerprints so we can only guess what's missing from some mic drawers and cabinets.

And, no, we did not have insurance. We had been shopping around with different companies earlier this month but had not signed a check, so nothing was insured. We are working on replacing the gate in front, installing an alarm system, and getting insurance, but it is President's day so it's not going as quickly as we would have liked. Nydia's computer was stolen (which wasn't backed up) and the modems/ phone system was ripped out, so we'll be relatively out of commission for a few days.

I would like to ask for everyone's help first in keeping an eye out for all of our stuff showing up on ebay/craigslist/local music shops, and secondly (and more realistically) keeping an eye out for good deals on headphones, mics, pre-amps, etc. I could really use a heads up on any kind of studio package for sale or studio equipment to be possibly bought or borrowed as soon as possible. We have a session scheduled for Friday to lay down some music for (I know this sounds surreal) Rod Stewart, and I'm going to have to get the studio running by then. I know I'm going to need to find headphones, cables, mics, and pre-amps by then. I'm not sure what else yet.

Upon first glance we are definitely missing:

Fender Super Guitar Amp in case
Fender Deluxe Guitar Amp
A whole bunch of headphones and wires
Nydia's HP laptop computer
One Desktop MacIntosh Computer
One Purple Audio API style lunchbox with four Purple Audio Biz mic pre-amps
2 Yamaha NS10 monitors
Vintage Harmony Rocket Guitar
One steel string acoustic guitar
Martin Tenor sax in a gig bag
Technics 1200 turntable
Ion USB turntable
Teac Receiver/stereo amp
Sony dual deck CD burner/player
All of our modem/phone system stuff was ripped out and taken.
A whole bunch of condensor and dynamic microphones (I still need to figure out exactly what's missing) The power supply for my Trident console was tossed and the board was moved (probably not gently) so the status of that is still questionable.
A baldwin organ was tossed and is probably broken.
Lacie External hard drive

Over the next few days, as we sort out the rubble, we are going to figure out what else we lost.

We are putting in a roll down front gate, alarm system, and finally getting our insurance happening this week. We are also going to hire a security guard to watch the house for tonight as the cops and alarm guy seemed pretty confident that they will be back with a truck now that they've seen what's in here.

Thanks for keeping eyes open for us. AND PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ALONG TO ANYONE YOU THINK MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP US.

Thankfully, we all still have our health, ambition, tape machines, and sense of humor in tact. You can slow us down, but you can't stop us. Sleep well knowing we here at Daptone will continue to...

Keep putting Soul up,

Gabriel Roth

P.S. On a lighter note, it seems like the burglars did drop a few items in order to lift Alex's old safe out of here, which was VERY heavy, VERY unwieldy, and also VERY EMPTY!

 Daptone Records
   115 Troutman St.,
   Brooklyn, NY 11206
   http://www.daptonerecords.com

Compiled by Blurt Staff

206 digital, satellite and hi-def channels and nothin' on? Not likely. Here are BLURT's top music television picks of the day. The time is followed by the network/cable/satellite channel, then the name of the program and/or featured artist(s). All times are EST.

TIME (EST) / CHANNEL / PROGRAM / ARTIST(S)

Tuesday, February 24:

9:00 am Ellen Degeneres: Raphael Saadiq

11:00 am Sundance: Live From Abbey Road: Brian Wilson, Marth Wainwright, Teddy Thompson

9:00 Biography Channel: Traci Lords

10:00 Biography: William Shatner's Raw Nerve - Jenna Jameson

11:30 CBS David Letterman: Steve Martin

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Will.i.am

12:00 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: Ben Sollee

12:30 CBS Craig Ferguson: Adele

12:35 NBC Conan O'Brien: Annuals

1:35 NBC Carson Daly: The Cure

Wednesday, February 25:

3:00 Biography: Frank Sinatra - Voice of the Century

8:00 Biography Willie Nelson

9:00 Biography: Johnny Cash's America

9:00 Sundance: Spectacle: Elvis Costello w/Smokey Robinson

11:00 Biography: William Shatner's Raw Nerve - Jenna Jameson

11:30 CBS David Letterman: Graham Nash

11:35 NBC Jay Leno: Jamey Johnson

12:00 ABC Jimmy Kimmel: Living Things

12:30 CBS Craig Ferguson: Glasvegas

12:35 NBC Conan O'Brien: Conor Oberst

1:00 VH1 Classic: Freddie Mercury: Magic Remixed

1:35 NBC Carson Daly: LMFAO

Hard-twanging troubadour preps his fifth album.

By Blurt Staff

Tim Easton has been driven westward both geographically and musically since his college days in Ohio. On his 5th album, Porcupine, due out April 28^th from New West Records, the Joshua Tree, CA resident  returns to his mid-western sound and lets a myriad of guitar riffs rooted in blues, rock, and folk set the color for observational lyrics capturing life from the desert to the sea and around the world. The new album finds Tim's writing skills sharpened, possibly inspired by his friend and mentor Lucinda Williams. Easton, known for his non-stop touring (from Dublin to Anchorage to Bangor to Jacksonville), will be on the road with a band, supporting Porcupine beginning this Spring, including a stop in Austin, TX where Tim will appear at several events during the South By Southwest convention, including the New West Records day party. 

For Porcupine, Tim went back to Alex The Great and Club Roar studios in Nashville to work with Brad Jones and Robin Eaton who produced his debut album, Special 20.   He wanted to "make some noise and get that jagged, midwestern rock and roll sound again" so he hand-picked the Ohio-based rhythm section - Sam Brown on drums (Gaunt, New Bomb Turks, RJD2) and Matt Surgeson on bass and backing vocals (Matt also played on Special 20). Renowned guitarist Kenny Vaughn, who Tim met playing in Lucinda's band for her Car Wheels tour, played second guitar.

Porcupine visits the rough edged and electric side of Tim's recordings, although it's an acoustic track that provides the record's shiniest moment in the pop-folk jangle of "Seventh Wheel."  Tim wrote the song in as much time as it takes to sing it while staying at friend's house in Dublin, and the band demanded that he record it for the album after hearing the demo he made in Ireland.   As for the title Porcupine, Tim explains "I thought the physical animal called the porcupine was a perfect symbol for the sound of this record in that it appears to be a gentle and harmless creature from a distance but up close it is in fact sharp and potentially dangerous." 

Tim has released three critically acclaimed albums on New West thus far: The Truth About Us (2001), Break Your Mother's Heart (2003) and Ammunition (2006).   He has toured with label mates John Hiatt and The Flatlanders, as well as with The Jayhawks and Lucinda Williams.  Living in the village of Joshua Tree between tours has made more time available for other creative endeavours such as painting and writing.  "There's not much else to do out here," Tim remarked, "so going for long hikes with my dogs or making music, paintings, and stories is what fills my average day at home."  There will be an exhibition of Tim's paintings, which are folk art based pieces that focus on the guitar, at Yard Dog Gallery in Austin during this year's SXSW conference.   A series of 500 individually painted vinyl album jackets will be part of the Porcupine release, and the New West CD release will feature Tim's art on the cover.

He is also the founder and publisher of a community newsletter and 'zine called The Joshua Tree Republic.  

Sorry Lily. It's not us, it's you.

By Fred Mills

The Academy has been polled, the voters have been sent home, and the sergeant at arms has the final results. Envelope please.... It's official now: the new Lily Allen album It's Not Me, It's You is a major turd.

You can read what BLURT had to say in a critique posted today at our CD reviews kiosk - or simply follow this link. Our crack reporter (or reporter on crack, take your pick, Allen fans), citing Greg Kurstin's "lifeless production" on this "self-reflective, morning after album," concludes that despite the presence of a couple of catchy songs, "in the end, it's just not fun enough to make [the album] worth wrapping your head around."

Lest you think we're dumping on Lily needlessly, check out the tepid critical tally over at Metacritic.com, in which Allen eked out a middling 71% rating (based on 29 reviews thus far - hey Metacritic, will ours knock that percentage down further?). While suck-ups like Britain's Guardian, the NME and our own Entertainment Weekly and Blender awarded Allen upwards of 80% in shameless bids to ensure that the dippy diva would continue to grant them access on her upcoming tour, wiser heads prevailed over at PopMatters (60%), Paste (52%) and Uncut (a scathing 20% - the reviewer terms that album, variously, "pallid," "excruciating" and an "extended moan").

Craptastic, in other words. Sorry Lily. It's not us, it's you.

Better act fast, fans... quantities limited, operators standing by to take your calls...

By Blurt Staff

Yesterday the mighty Mastodon kicked off a pre-order for Crack the Skye, their seven-song Brendan O'Brien-produced opus, exclusively through iTunes. Those who pre-order the album digitally will also be able to immediately download a new album track, "Oblivion." As a bonus, fans who order right away will also receive an exclusive version of  "Oblivion" recorded live on the UK's XFM radio and is not available anywhere else. 

ITunes will also offer a special deluxe pre-order package, which includes the Crack the Skye digital album along with the full album presented as a "score," in its entirety.  The instrumental score version will invite fans into a completely unique listening experience that enhances the music's sonic ebb and flow into a cinematic adventure.  The deluxe package will also include the live XFM "Oblivion" track, and an exclusive PDF album booklet file. The downloadable booklet contains album artwork and in-depth explanations of the intricate and otherworldly concept behind the record.

On the same day, fans should directly proceed to www.mastodonrocks.com to purchase the second in a series of extremely limited-edition fan packs, which consists of the "Oblivion" single, along with the instrumental "score" version of the track, and an exclusive Oblivion T-shirt that is not available outside this web location. Cost of the fan-pack bundle is $24.99. T-shirts will be available in all sizes and orders will be processed immediately.   All of the other items and editions mentioned above will be delivered on the official album street date of  Mar.24.

Finally, www.cracktheskye.com is the newly launched and highly visual album-related website the band has established specifically for the album.

Since the previous limited-edition fan pack, which featured the "Divinations" single and related T-shirt, sold out immediately, and with the Deluxe Crack the Skye CD + DVD limited-edition "Tunnel Book" with lithograph nearly gone forever, fans should not hesitate to visit the band's websites today. Once these exclusive items have sold out, they will not be produced again. More news will be announced shortly so keep a close eye on  www.mastodonrocks.com and www.cracktheskye.com.

Mounts April tour with From Monument To Masses and Dredg; also at Scion Rock Fest this weekend.

By Blurt Staff

News just in from the Torche camp: the Florida stoner/skronk metal trio has a new 12" EP + DVD en route from Hydra Head on March 10^th. It features two tracks off last year's Meanderthal ("Healer" and "Across the Shields"), plus a pair of new song ("Mash it Up" and "Sugar Glider"), along with DVD of music videos for "Healer" and "Across the Shields!"

The 12" album cover depicts behind-the-scenes images from the band's video shoot for "Across The Shields." You can check out the links to the release at HydraHeadShop.com (and pre-order, natch) copies on purple, orange and black vinyl now.

To support the new release the band has announced US tour dates w/ From Monument to Masses and Dredg.

Tracklist for Healer / Across The Shields 12" + DVD:

Side A: Healer / Across The Shields
Side B: Mash It Up / Sugar Glider
DVD: Healer (Music Video) / Across The Shields (Music Video)

Tour Dates:

2/28 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade / Scion Rock Fest with Mastodon, Neurosis, Harvey Milk, Boris, Converge, Coalesce, High On Fire, Trash Talk, Pig Destroyer, more.

w/ From Monument to Masses and Dredg:

4/3 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
4/4 Bellingham, WA @ Nightlight
4/5 Seattle WA @ Neumo's
4/7 Salt Lake City, UT @ Avalon Theater
4/8 Denver, CO @ The Marquis Theater
4/10 Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
4/11 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudville Mews
4/12 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
4/13 Pontiac, MI @ Eagle Theater
4/15 Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs
4/16 Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of Living Arts
4/17 Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
4/18 Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
4/19 New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
4/21 Raleigh, NC @ The Brewery

Roadtesting material from forthcoming studio album, giving away free singles... what's not to like?

By Fred Mills

It's the reunion that keeps on giving: Dinosaur Jr - no period please, just "Jr" [Thanks. - Purist Ed.] - will be hitting the road on April Fool's day (hmmm....) for a monthlong tour that will take in the northeast, the south and parts of the midwest. Prior to that will be a high profile stop in Austin for SXSW. This will all be a lead-in to a proposed new studio album by the band, as the trio recently signed to Jagjaguwar and is planning on a summer release.

Also, tour ticket buyers will receive a limited edition 7" (or corresponding download code for those dumb enough not to covet vinyl). According to the band's website, "The band will be setting out in April to road test new material in cozier settings than you might expect. Check out the Tour Page for details. For the fortunate fans who score tickets to these select shows, they will also receive a limited edition, tour-only 7" or a digital download code with the purchase of a ticket. The songs on this release were recorded live during a Pitchfork.tv feature at J Mascis' Bisquiteen Studios. The A-Side is a new track entitled ‘I Don't Want To Go There' and is slated to appear on the forthcoming full length, while the B-Side is a revisited classic ‘Tarpit' from You're Living All Over Me."

Er, we're not sure what they mean by "cozier settings" but some of the venues listed below seat in the 750-1000 range...

Tour Dates:

3-20 Austin, TX - Cedar St. Courtyard
4-01 Milford, CT - Daniel Street
4-02 Providence, RI - Club Hell
4-03 Portland, ME - The Station
4-04 South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
4-06 Buffalo, NY - The Town Ballroom
4-07 State College, PA - Lulu's
4-08 Akron, OH - Musica
4-09 East Lansing, MI - The Small Planet
4-10 Bloomington, IN - Bluebird Nightclub
4-11 Dekalb, IL - Otto's Nightclub
4-13 Chattanooga, TN - Rhythm and Brews
4-14 Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall
4-15 Baton Rouge, LA - The Varsity Theatre
4-16 Little Rock, AR - Revolution Music Room
4-17 Fayetteville, AR - George's Majestic Lounge
4-18 Oxford, MS - Proud Larry's
4-20 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
4-21 Augusta, GA - Sky City
4-22 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds
4-23 Tallahassee, FL - The Moon
4-24 Jacksonville Beach, FL - Freebird Live
4-25 Charleston, SC - The Music Farm
4-26 Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
4-27 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
4-29 Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre
4-30 Richmond, VA - Toad's Place Richmond
5-01 Lancaster, PA - Chameleon Club
5-02 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar

No word on whether he was vacationing on this island with Amy Winehouse...

By Blurt Staff

If we're lucky, this will be the last-ever time you see the name Barenaked Ladies in BLURT, so keep your fingers crossed - we can only hope that nobody in the band, like, collaborates with somebody famous, or (ahem) gets busted for drugs... hangs out with strippers... records a children's album.... dies.... You get the drift. Media reports are coming in saying that the band's vocalist Steven Page has been fired, er, we mean, is quitting to go solo.

In some fairly meaningless commentary posted to the Ladies' website, the parting is by mutual agreement and the remaining four guys will soldier on as a band (a new album is due later this year) while Page will "pursue solo projects including theatrical opportunities." (Memo to Page: Word has it that a Broadway adaptation of Rush may be in the works.)

Page's statement:" These guys are my brothers. We've grown up together over the past twenty years. I love them and wish them all the best in the future."

The band's: "It's the start of a new chapter for all of us. Here's to the future!"

Feel free to revisit BLURT's Barenaked files: HERE we discuss Page's July 2008 bust for blow, detail the band's dalliances with strippers, and tell you a bit about that children's album they released shortly before the cocaine incident, while HERE we examine the subsequent heartache in the kids-music world when the Ladies were removed from the bill a Disney-sponsored children's benefit concert. Life, it seems, is short and cruel, especially when you name your band Barenaked Ladies.

New album + a slew of SXSW appearances...

By Blurt Staff

A year and a half ago we interviewed the Warlocks' Bobby Hecksher about his band's then-recent album Heavy Deavy Skull Lover (Tee Pee). Now comes word of the followup, titled The Mirror Explodes and due May 19 from Tee Pee. We've got the scoop, below, including word on the group's upcoming showcase at SXSW. Read on....

***

For five albums, The Warlocks have lived between and beyond the minutes and hours of time. Sway to The Warlocks live and loud and songs will drift and envelop each other like the fog. Listen to the records and you'll hear soundtracks to fuzz-freaked, bacchanalian stomps, pre-dawn city prowls, sleeping late with new crushes, and the elation and exhaustion that washes in and recede deep into the wee hours.

The Warlocks new LP, The Mirror Explodes, speaks and whispers from all of these places. But where the band's last long player, Heavy Deavy Skull Lover, tweaked time in an icy-cool, white-noise swirl that evoked a decadent lysergic night, The Mirror Explodes is disorientation through a longer lens -pictures of luck, longing, losing, moods and fever dreams scrambled in the haze of near and distant memory.

On the 8 songs of The Mirror Explodes, the band's signature amalgam of White Light/White Heat attack; space panoramas, fuzz, melancholy, and melody is present and potent. But there is a vivid focus too. Throbbing bass lines, distant rolling thunder drums, and zombie rattlesnake shake are a heartbeat of strange, ominous vitality. Guitars howl, slash and bounce like light. Bobby Hecksher's vocals sound oddly alone and unsettlingly intimate all at once. And just when you think you understand the sum of these sonic elements, they become something else entirely.

The Mirror Explodes was produced and recorded by Rod Cervera (Weezer, The Rentals) at Clear Lake Studios, Mastered by JJ Golden at Golden Mastering. Listen to the first track, "Red Camera" off the band's new album below.

The Mirror Explodes Tracklist:

1. Red Camera
2. The Midnight Sun
3. Slowly Disappearing
4. There Is A Formula To Your Despair
5. Standing Between The Lovers Of Hell
6. You Make Me Wait
7. Frequency Meltdown
8. Static Eyes

SXSW Shows:

3.15.09 Vulcan Gas Co. 2 Austin, TX w/ Black Angels, Dead Meadow, A Place To Bury Strangers and more!
3.19.09 Roky Erickson Psychedelic Ice Cream Social Austin, TX w/ Roky Erickson
3.19.09 The Compound Austin, TX
3.21.09 Club 1808 2-7PM Tee Pee Records / LA Record SXSW Day Party Austin, TX w/ Annihilation Time, Year Long Disaster, Night Horse
3.21.09 Viva Radio/American Apparel official showcase Time TBA Austin, TX

Britain's Shockwaves Awards Fail to Shock

2-26-09

Hey, quit raggin' on the Jonas Brothers, ya Meanies!

By Fred Mills

Though Barack Obama took Hero of the Year honors and his predecessor George W. Bush was handed the Villain of the Year trophy, last night's Shockwaves NME Awards ultimately held no real surprises other than the fact that the NME & Co. bothered to make a half-ass reference to world politics. Elsewhere, it was business as usual, with many of the usual suspects getting nods, including the Cure (the annual Godlike Genius award), Oasis for Best British Band, the Killers for Best International Band and Pete Doherty (pictured) for Best Solo Artist.

In addition to the Killers, some fairly unoriginal thinking was on display when it came to the Brits' choice du jour for Americans: Kings Of Leon won Best Album, and MGMT nabbed Best New Band and Best Track. Not to get catty or anything, but if the Killers, the Kings and MGMT are the best acts we can send across the pond, maybe it's time to concede that the domestic music industry is in fact in the toilet and finished as many have been predicting for some time. (Raise your hand if you can remember a time when U.S. bands like the Long Ryders and Mudhoney were making the cover of the NME.)

The Jonas Brothers, naturally, were hailed as Worst Band and Worst Album, clearly a reactionary-vote-by-design. This only goes to prove that people who live in glass houses might should consider not throwing stones: the UK track record of serving up so-called prefab teen pop stars with critical cred isn't particularly good, folks, so watch who you're bashing.

Winners List:

Godlike Genius: The Cure
Best British Band: Oasis supported by Shockwaves
Best Internationsl Band: The Killers supported by 4music
Best Solo Artist: Pete Doherty
Best New Band: MGMT supported by Bench
Best Live Band: Muse supported by Red Stripe
Best Album: Kings Of Leon ‘Only By The Night' supported by HMV
Best Track: MGMT ‘Time To Pretend' supported by NME Radio
Best Video: Last Shadow Puppets ‘My Mistakes Were Made For You' supported by NME TV
Best Live Event: Glastonbury 2008
Best TV: ‘The Mighty Boosh'
Phillip Hall Radar Award: The Big Pink
Best Dancefloor Filler: Dizzee Rascal featuring Calvin Harris and Chrome - 'Dance Wiv Me'
Best DVD: Arctic Monkeys - 'Live At The Apollo'
Best Band Blog: Oasis' Noel Gallagher
Best Venue: London Astoria
Best Album Artwork Muse 'HAARP'
Hero Of The Year: Barack Obama
Villain Of The Year: George W Bush
Best Dressed: Alexa Chung
Worst Dressed: Amy Winehouse
Worst Album: The Jonas Brothers - 'A Little Bit Longer'
Worst Band: the Jonas Brothers
Sexiest Male: Muse's Matt Bellamy
Sexiest Female: Paramore's Hayley Williams
Best Website: YouTube

Scarey-looking bald-headed dude with tattoos rustles himself up some high stakes heavy metal with Jerry Cantrell, Vinnie Paul, Kirk Hammet and Slash.

By Blurt Staff

Wow. Here's something you don't see in the news every day. Personally we're holding out for the Phish Phrisbee Tourney, but hey....

Scott Ian, frontman for Anthrax, is also a poker pro and a member of the UltimateBet online team. And, in that capacity, Ian will host "Scott Ian's Home Game," an exclusive online poker tournament where you can check, raise and bluff rock stars and poker pros, and be eligible for a $10,000 prize pool, if you're one of 20 lucky players to secure a spot. Leading online poker site UltimateBet has just launched online poker qualifiers for this once-in-a-lifetime Texas Hold'em tournament - for full details and a complete tournament schedule, log onto: http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-promotion/scott-ian-home-game (click on the "Free Download" button at the top of the page, then sign up to win a seat).

Slated to play in "Scott Ian's Home Game" online poker tournament are Ian, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, Vinnie Paul of Pantera, Metallica's Kirk Hammett and rock legend Slash. Also playing will be 11-time World Series of Poker winner Phil Hellmuth, and World Poker Champion Annie Duke. Online poker players will be able to chat with the rock stars and poker legends through the UltimateBet software's chat feature.

"I am really excited about my Home Game on UB," said Scott Ian, currently in the studio mixing the new Anthrax album "Worship Music," due out this summer. "With all of our crazy schedules, we're never in the same city so it's not often that I get to play Hold'em with all my friends. UltimateBet has provided the venue for us to play together and I can't wait to welcome some UB players to the table and get to know them a little more personally."

2009 marks the 25-year anniversary of the release of Anthrax's debut album, 1984's "Fistful of Metal, and over the course of that 25-years, the band has remained one of heavy metal's all-time great acts. Along with Slayer, Metallica and Megadeth, Anthrax is credited with co-founding the thrash genre. This summer, Megaforce Records will release "Worship Music," Anthrax's first new studio album in six years. The new album will mark the studio debut of new singer Dan Nelson, who joins long-time members Ian (rhythm guitar), Frank Bello (bass), Charlie Benante (drums), and Rob Caggiano (lead guitar).

Guitarist for the beloved Athens band unexpectedly passes away on Wednesday.

By Fred Mills

The Amerindie world is in shock and the Athens, GA, musical community is in mourning today as word gets out about the passing of Pylon guitarist Randy Bewley. Apparently he was driving his van on Monday when he suffered a heart attach and his van went off the road and flipped. Yesterday, he died at the Athens Regional Medical Center. He was 53. As of this writing the funeral arrangements have not been announced.

It's a given, however, that said Athens community will be out in full force for Bewley's funeral or memorial. When Bewley and bassist Michael Lachowski assembled Pylon in early '79 with drummer Curtis Crowe and singer Vanessa Briscoe, they quickly vaulted to the forefront of the Athens music scene, peers with the B-52s as well as up-and-comers like Love Tractor, the Method Actors and a little ol' band called R.E.M. Pylon's edgy brand of thumping post-punk, dubbed-out funk and wildly danceable pop was one of the era's signature sounds, Bewley's angular, minimalist fretboard squall in particular helping carve an utterly unique identify for the band. To say that Pylon was an inspiration to both fans and fellow musicians would be a gross understatement.

Speaking to me in December of 2007 for Harp magazine around the time of the DFA label's expanded reissue of Pylon's 1980 debut Gyrate, Vanessa Briscoe reflected on her group's initial tenure and legacy along with their subsequent reunions, first in 1988 and then again in 2004. "Pylon is the four of us; it is not one guitarist who used to be in Pylon along with three people he auditioned and brought in," she said, affirming the personal and artistic bond the members shared. "It is these particular four people, so if one of us didn't want to do it, it wasn't going to be Pylon anymore. So... [laughs] we broke up! And we all went on to our separate lives there for awhile.

"We've always been really good friends, we really have. Like any friends, if you think about it, you'll ebb and flow like the tide; sometimes you get to see each other a lot and sometimes not at all. That's what it's like, and we've all known each other since we were about 20 years old. That's a long time! We don't reap the financial rewards, but you know, money's not everything; and we've seen the worst and the best of each other and we're all still friends.

"These guys are like my brothers."

***

In a statement posted to both Pylon's MySpace page and Facebook page, the band paid tribute to Bewley, writing:

This past Monday evening, Randy Bewley had a heart attack while driving his van on Barber Street in Athens, GA. He was taken to Athens Regional Medical Center. Today, our bandmate and brother passed away at a little before 5 p.m. with his family and friends at his side. He will be missed, even as we celebrate his life and creativity. His guitar sound was as special as he was and always will be. Randy's guitar work defined not only a generation of sound but Randy himself. His visual art, painting and photos, combined with his signature sound formed a loose set of boundaries that helps understand him. His quiet devotion to family and friends will become a benchmark for those he leaves behind.

R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe is a longtime friend of the Pylon gang (early on, R.E.M. opened for Pylon, and later, when R.E.M. became stars, they returned the favor by having Pylon open for them) gave a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, saying, "We are so very saddened to hear the news of Randy's passing. Pylon have always been an inspired catalyst to R.E.M. and the Athens music and art scene, and beyond."

And on a personal note, I'll just add that those times I saw Pylon perform in the early ‘80s were among some of the most fun shows lodged in my memory. That's something anyone who attended a Pylon concert will tell you - they were so much fun, even the geekiest person in the room couldn't help but get up and dance. Plus, the group had an undeniable chemistry, and they exuded a sleek, sexy charisma impossible to fake. Listening to their records now, I can say without a doubt that they are stone classics that have stood the test of time - go listen, now, to some of their signature songs, like the pulsing, throbbing "Cool" or the droning, yet impossibly poppy, "Crazy." You'll see (hear) what I mean.

BLURT extends out deepest condolences to Bewley's family, to his friends, and of course to Pylon.

Included this year are Taj Mahal, Irma Thomas, Son Seals, and Rev. Gary Davis.

By Blurt Staff

The Blues Foundation has announced the inductees for the Blues Hall of Fame in 2009, including "Soul Queen of New Orleans" Irma Thomas and multiple GRAMMY Award winner Taj Mahal, as well as late Chicago bluesman Son Seals and the Reverend Gary Davis.

Austin club owner Clifford Antone, discographer Mike Leadbitter and author Bob Porter will be the non-performers inducted this year. The book I Hear You Knockin' by Jeff Hannusch was selected as a Classics of Blues Literature. The induction ceremony will be held at The Blues Foundation's Charter Member Dinner on Wednesday, May 6, at the Memphis Marriott Downtown in Memphis, Tennessee, the night before the 30th Blues Music Awards. Taj Mahal and Irma Thomas will both attend the induction ceremony.

The following singles or album tracks will be inducted during the ceremony: "Boom Boom" by John Lee Hooker; "Caldonia" by Louis Jordan; and "Sitting on Top of the World" by Mississippi Sheiks. These albums were also chosen for induction: Amtrak Blues by Alberta Hunter; T-Bone Blues by T-Bone Walker; and the 2 CD set Blues With a Feeling (Newport Folk Festival Classics) by Various Artists.

The Hall of Fame committee, consisting of scholars, record producers, radio programmers, and historians, is chaired by Jim O'Neal, founding editor of Living Blues.

The Blues Hall of Fame is a program of The Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization established to preserve Blues history, celebrate Blues excellence, support Blues education and ensure the future of this uniquely American art form. The Foundation consists of a worldwide network of 165 affiliated Blues societies and has individual memberships spanning the globe. In addition to the Blues Hall of Fame, the Foundation also produces the Blues Music Awards, the International Blues Challenge and the Keeping the Blues Alive Awards. For more information or to join The Blues Foundation: www.blues.org, natch.

Has to ask his beard's permission first... seriously, when was the last time you saw a rapper with a beard?

By Blurt Staff

EW.com is reporting that Rick Rubin is diving back into hip-hop, the musical milieu where he initially made his name in the ‘80s producing the likes of the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J and Run-DMC. Word has it the cochairman of Columbia Records and owner of one of music's great beards has just finished up some recording with The Clipse in Malibu and plans are to continue cutting a couple more tracks soon.

The Clipse album's projected title is Til the Casket Drops is slated for sometime in the summer.

Rubin, of course, has focused more on rock in recent years, working with Metallica, ZZ Top, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Diamond and, currently, North Carolina's Avett Brothers.

One woman band continues to wow the masses, is en route to SXSW.

By Fred Mills

BLURT fave Theresa Andersson hits the road this weekend for yet another extended trek in support of her frankly awesome 2008 album Hummingbird, Go! This comes on the heels of her viral YouTube run, a glowing review in BLURT followed by a best-of-2008 nod by BLURT, a well-received appearance on the Conan O'Brien show and some major coverage in the Los Angeles Times (here and here).

Trust us on this one - ya gotta see this lady do her one-woman show employing loops, pedals, guitar, percussion and violin. The gig BLURT caught last fall was one of the year's highlights, no lie.

Tour Dates:

                        2/28                 Birmingham, AL             The Bottletree
                        3/01                 Decatur, GA               Eddie's Attic
                        3/04          Chapel Hill, NC          Local 506
                        3/05                 Charlottesville, VA        Gravity Lounge
                        3/06                 Norfolk, VA               Attucks Theatre
                        3/07                 Vienna, VA                 Jammin' Java
                        3/10                 Philadelphia, PA             Tin Angel
                        3/11                 Harrisburg, PA                The Abbey Bar
                        3/12                 Pontiac, MI                 The Pike Room at The Crofoot
                        3/13                 Evanston, IL               Space
                        3/14                 St. Louis, MO      Blueberry Hill
                        3/18                 Austin, TX                  SXSW @ Emo's Annex
                        3/20                 Austin, TX                  SXSW @ Antone's
                        3/23                 Nashville, TN       The Basement

Check the hype (all true):

 Raised in Sweden but based in New Orleans for over a decade, Theresa mines her sonic roots of both homes on her gorgeous album Hummingbird, Go! (Basin Street Records), an intriguing blend of breezy, 60s-era pop combined with soul, gospel and Motown that features guest appearances by fellow Scandanavian Ane Brun and legendary New Orleans producer and composer Allen Toussaint.

Released to critical acclaim this past September, Hummingbird, Go! has sparked interest among music programmers, the media and other tastemakers around the country.  Her single, "Birds Fly Away", has been a KCRW "Top Tune", and featured as an NPR's "Song of the Day" Theresa also just shot a music video for "Birds Fly Away," which should be ready shortly.

Oh, and about that YouTube video for "Na Na Na":

Fool be buggin' out over a cafeteria food tray...

By Fred Mills

Earl Simmons, a/k/a rapper DMX, was sentenced to prison time in Maricopa County, Arizona, last month for various felonies, including drug possession, felony theft and animal cruelty. It was only a 90-day sentence, however, which if you consider how strict the authorities can be in Maricopa (home to both Phoenix and Sheriff Joe Arpaio's notorious "tent city" brand of incarceration), is what we call "gettin' off with a wrist slap" - by way of comparison, one of BLURT's Arizona friends was convicted of DUI and received more than 90 days.

But stupid is as stupid does, and DMX is not known for making wise life choices. Ergo, he's already tested the waters twice in a bid to see if he can rack up yet more time in the slammer. According to a report at AZCentral.com, the first incident came on Feb. 8 when he "launched into a profanity-laced tirade" against a prison supervisor stemming from his refusing to report for a work assignment and to take his medication. Then Sunday he was booked on "suspicion of aggravated assault charge" after he reportedly threw a food tray at a corrections officer at the prison.

Well, at least all the other prisoners know he's truly a badass now. Heaving a tray is the new drive-by.

Somebody apparently forgot to tell DMX that the Bush era is over and it's time for everyone to grow up and act like adults. Maybe we'll all get lucky and he'll do something even more counterintuitive that'll net him 8 years and we won't have to worry about the dumbass during the interim.

A day without a sweaty upper torso photo of David Yow is like a day without sunshine...

By Blurt Staff

First comes word of the Jesus Lizard reuniting in order to play All Tomorrow's Parties in England in May (plus a Chicago show next November). Now the good folks at Touch & Go inform us of a special Jesus Lizard singles box set for April 18, Record Store Day. Details from the label below....

***

From Touch & Go:

As you have likely heard by now, the Jesus Lizard, known in some circles as the greatest live band EVER, is reuniting the original line up to perform in 2009. You may have also heard that April 18, 2009 marks the return of Record Store Day, an event to support the independent record stores we know and love.  So we got to thinking...what better way to celebrate two things we wholeheartedly believe in than by bringing them together?  So with that in mind, we're excited to announce INCH from the Jesus Lizard, a special release Touch and Go is offering up for sale on Record Store Day only. 

INCH is a collection of all the 7" singles The Jesus Lizard released on Touch and Go, lovingly remastered by Bob Weston and enclosed in a foldable clear plastic package, suitable for both compact storage and bedroom wall display.  Adding to the allure is the fact that each 7" has been out of print for over six years, so finding any one single (let alone all of them) at a store has been near impossible.  Also included here is a 7" of "Puss", the Jesus Lizard's side from the long-gone split with Nirvana. Still not enough?  INCH also contains the "Gladiator" single, originally given away exclusively at a Jesus Lizard Brixton Academy show in London back in 1992 and nowhere else. 

INCH Tracklisting:

"Chrome" b/w "7 vs 8"

"Mouthbreather" b/w "Sunday You Need Love"

"Wheelchair Epidemic" b/w "Dancing Naked Ladies"

"Gladiator" (live) b/w "Seasick" (live)

"Puss"

Lash 3x7" containing

            "Glamorous" b/w "Deaf as a Bat"

            "Lady Shoes" (live) b/w "Killer McHann" (live)

            "Bloody Mary" (live) b/w "Monkey Trick" (live)

"(Fly) On (the Wall)" b/w "White Hole"

This collection of singles is merely the first thing to hit from the Jesus Lizard in 2009.  The band is set to perform at ATP: The Fans Strike Back festival in England on May 8-10.  Additionally, the band has just confirmed another date in London on May 11^th at The Forum. Ooh wee child, get your pads and cup ready because the real deal is about to blast you like Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka coming off the top turnbuckle.

More tour dates will be announced shortly as well as details on the catalog reissues.

June release preceded by multiple shows at SXSW plus a UK tour.

By Blurt Staff

Dirty Projectors are set to release 'Bitte Orca', their 5th full-length album and first for Domino Records on June 9.  It's their followup to 2007's Rise Above, a healthily-hyped but ultimately insubstantial "reimagining" of the Black Flag album of the same name. This new platter was recorded in Portland, OR and on their home turn in Brooklyn, NY in 2008 and will be available on CD, LP & digital. David Longstreth formed Dirty Projectors in 2002 and the group now consists of Angel Deradoorian, Amber Coffman, Brian Mcomber and David as principal members.  Lead single 'Stillness Is The Move' will precede the album on April 21st in North America and will be available on 12" and digital, with b-sides and a remix by Lucky Dragons.

Dirty Projectors will also be introducing an expanded 6 member live lineup with the addition of bassist Nat Baldwin and vocalist Haley Dekle for a number of dates this winter and spring. The dates include a very special show at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis on March 6th, a number of SXSW performances, a UK Arts Council headline tour and more.

Tracklists:

Bitte Orca

1. Cannibal Resource

2. Temecula Sunrise

3. The Bride

4. Stillness Is The Move

5. Two Doves

6. Useful Chamber

7. No Intention

8. Remade Horizon

9. Fluorescent Half Dome

Stillness Is The Move

A1 Stillness Is The Move (Album Version)

A2 Stillness Is The Move (A Cappella Mix)

B1 Stillness Is The Move (Lucky Dragons Remix)

B2 Wave The Bloody Shirt

B3 Bitte Bitte Orca

Tour Dates:

3/6 - Walker Arts Center - Minneapolis, MN

3/19 - SXSW - NPR Party @ The Parish

3/19 - SXSW - Windish Agency Showcase @ Emos Annex

3/20 - SXSW - TBA

3/21 - SXSW - TBA

3/24 - Rescue Rooms - Nottingham, UK

3/25 - Clwb Ifor Bach - Cardiff, UK

3/27 - Black Box - Belfast, Northern Ireland

3/38 - Crawdaddy - Dublin, Ireland

3/29 - ABC2 - Glasgow, Scotland

3/31 - Komedia - Brighton, UK

4/1 - Mint Lounge - Manchester, UK

4/2 - Scala - London, UK

4/3 - Arnolfini - Bristol, UK

4/4 - Taylor Johns House - Coventry, UK

Potentially unfortunate career and p.r. move for the country superstar.

By Fred Mills

It's not every day we have Dolly Parton news to report, and even rarer still are the opportunities to exploit what some might term "unfortunate, or at least slightly uncomfortable" coincidences in the daily news cycle. At any rate, a press release just slipped over the BLURT transom informs us that Dolly is partnering with the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store^® restaurant chain to release a special "Collectors' Edition" of Parton's recent album Backwoods Barbie. It's to include new art plus three previously unreleased bonus tracks and will be sold exclusive at Cracker Barrels.

All cool there; you can read the full press release below. Meanwhile, as one of the interns observed when we were discussing the Parton news, "In light of the Howard Stern shit, do you think that Dolly hooking up with Cracker Barrel is the smartest move?"

Good point. For those with short memories, about a year ago there was this big flap surrounding a Parton audio track that was aired on the Howard Stern show. Apparently the Stern crew employed some mixing and tape splicing wizardry to essentially do a mashup of Parton quotes taken from an audio book to make it sound like she was spewing a litany of racist epithets (and no shortage of "big wang" comments, too). Parton subsequently had to go on the defensive and released a statement saying, "I have never been so shocked, hurt and humiliated in all my life. I cannot believe what Howard Stern has done to me. In a blue million years, I would never have such vulgar things come out of my mouth. They have done editing or some sort of trickery to make this horrible, horrible thing. Please accept my apology for them and certainly know I had nothing to do with this. If there was ever going to be a lawsuit, it's going to be over this. Just wanted you to know that I am completely devastated by this."

The offending Stern show audio clip appears to have been removed from most websites, but some diligent searching can probably unearth an MP3 of it somewhere.

And that's the problem: with the Internet, everything lasts until eternity, which means someone who doesn't know the backstory here might come across Parton's so-called racist rant and take it at face value.

Which brings us to Cracker Barrel: how many of you out there still consider the chain's name as synonymous with "racist"? It was very, very long ago, nearly 20 years ago in fact, that those lawsuits alleging Cracker Barrel had engaged in minority discrimination and refusing to serve black customers were first filed, and they've also been long since settled (to the tune of $8.7 million). The chain has subsequently gone to great lengths to rebuild its public image, but it goes without saying that deeply negative image is hard to ever fully erase in the minds of most people. To this day, the ongoing joke remains, "Did ya ever wonder why they call it Cracker Barrel?" (Denny's has a similar public relations problem regarding a perception of insensitivity, too.)

Humans can be stupid. And memories can be both long and short. But you can't change human nature, so here's hoping that the Parton-Cracker Barrel move won't result in all sorts of media attention (like the bit you're reading right now) that tries to spin it in a negative direction. We LOVE Dolly, just to be perfectly clear.

Like we said, just one of those uncomfortable coincidences we sometimes encounter while scouring the world for music-related news. Hey, come to think of it, it's still Black History Month, too....

***

Parton Press Release:

LEBANON, Tenn. - (February 27, 2009) - She's an international star, a prolific songwriter, and a beloved philanthropist, but Dolly Parton is also just an old-fashioned Tennessee girl, and that's why Cracker Barrel Old Country Store^® is pleased and proud to be the exclusive source of a new Collectors' Edition of Dolly's latest CD, Backwoods Barbie. The album will feature three new tracks that have never been heard before and are available only on this disc, and the CD will also feature brand new photos and artwork. This Collectors' Edition goes on sale exclusively at all Cracker Barrel locations on March 23^rd.

The three new songs on this disc, "Rose of My Heart," "Hallelujah Holiday," and "Berry Pie" were selected by Dolly herself from her extensive catalog.  "I wanted the songs I chose specifically for this release to reflect how I feel about Cracker Barrel and all the good things you can find there," said Dolly.  "I think it's important for there to be an authentic connection to the heritage that Cracker Barrel and I share."

Dolly Parton is considered to be the most successful female country music artist, having released 42 top-10 country albums and earned 25 number-one singles. She has won seven Grammy^® awards and received 42 Grammy^® nominations. She has also received seven awards from the Academy of Country Music and 10 Country Music Association awards, and is one of only five female artists to win the CMA's highest honor, "Entertainer of the Year." Dolly is also an acclaimed movie and television actress, and her literacy program, Dolly Parton's "Imagination Library," is now in 566 counties in 36 states.  It started in her home town in Sevier County, Tennessee, just up the road from Cracker Barrel's home town of Lebanon, Tennessee.  "The woman is one of our national treasures, so let's cherish her for as long as we've got her...this is one Barbie who has always been for real," wrote Newsweek in 2008.

"Dolly Parton is an extremely popular and appealing entertainer, and our guests are in for some wonderful sounds when they listen to this Collectors' Edition of Dolly's latest CD, Backwoods Barbie," says Peter Keiser, Vice President of Marketing for Cracker Barrel. "We are especially pleased that Dolly herself selected the three new exclusive songs for this album and honored that these songs reflect her feelings about Cracker Barrel."

The Collectors' Edition of Backwoods Barbie with 15 tracks, including three new songs, goes on sale exclusively at all Cracker Barrel locations on March 23^rd, at a retail price of 11.99.

The Collectors' Edition of Backwoods Barbie is the latest project in an impressive collection of exclusive music available only at Cracker Barrel. It follows a number of exclusive releases in 2008 -  November's release of Bill Gaither's Homecoming Hymns, the August release of Kenny Rogers: 50 Years, the July release of Ricky Skaggs' The High Notes and the April release of Aaron Tippin's He Believed.  Over the last few years, Cracker Barrel has released exclusive CDs featuring Alison Krauss & Union Station, Josh Turner, Amy Grant, Sara Evans, and Charlie Daniels.

About Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel Old Country Storeâ restaurants provide a friendly home-away-from-home in their old country stores and restaurants.  Guests are cared for like family while relaxing and enjoying real home-style food and shopping that's surprisingly unique, genuinely fun and reminiscent of America's country heritage...all at a fair price. The restaurant serves up delicious, home-style country food such as meatloaf and homemade chicken n' dumplins as well as its signature biscuits using an old family recipe. The authentic old country retail store is fun to shop and offers unique gifts and self-indulgences.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL) was established in 1969 in Lebanon, Tenn. and operates 588 company-owned locations in 41 states.  Every Cracker Barrel unit is open seven days a week with hours Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. - 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 6 a.m. - 11 p.m.  For more information, visit: crackerbarrel.com.

Good clean arcade fun never goes out of fashion.

By Fred Mills

Proof that David Lee Roth ain't just diamond, he's perennial GOLD, came back in December when we brought you word of a DLR-themed website whereby you could click through and receive a veritable choruses of short Roth audio clips ("Oh God!" "Whooo!" "You know, UHHH!" etc.). Seriously good twisted fun, and the site appears to still be operative.

This one's even better: a Van Halen Asteroids game - or, more accurately, Diamond Dave Edition Assteroidz. It utilizes the typical keyboard controls (up arrow for thrust, L-R arrow to rotate, space bar to fire the blasters), but instead of the familiar chunky asteroids we all know and love from back in the early ‘80s, the objects floating through space that you have to destroy are assorted Van Halen logos, disembodied Eddie Van Halen heads, a roly-poly looking alien, and more.

Your icon that's doing the blasting? None other than depiction of a leaping, split-legged Roth, natch. Sound effects include, quite logically, random Roth utterances.

Watch out for that head of Sammy Hagar that goes zipping past ya! He can't drive just 55!

Forthcoming album the followup to 2007's Everyday I Said a Prayer for Kathy and Made a One Inch Square.

By Blurt Staff

The beloved Massachusetts group Wheat's last album was 2007's Everyday I Said a Prayer for Kathy and Made a One Inch Square, for the Empyrean label, and although an EP was mooted for last year, it never materialized, making this forthcoming project as well as the reissues hotly anticipated. Read on....

Wheat plans a reissue of their two first records - "Medeiros" and "Hope and Adams." The double CD also includes a third bonus disc, titled "30 Minute Theatrik" featuring unreleased songs and demos. 

Wheat entered the scene with their 1998 debut, "Medeiros" (produced by Brian Deck, pre-Modest Mouse and Iron & Wine). The album hit big across the pond where NME named "Death Car" as Single of the Week and a limited-edition seven-inch sold out within days. 

The follow up, "Hope and Adams," secured the band's place in indie-rock history with its "melodic poise and impressive ache" (Rolling Stone). Or, as our friends at Magnet observed, "If the off-kilter, impressionistic feel of "Medeiros" was ambitious, Hope and Adams' sense of cinematic abandon is profound." The expansive Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev)-produced album made numerous End of Year lists.

After releasing only one major-label record "Per Second, Per Second, Per Second-Every Second" (Aware/Columbia), the band became disenchanted with the major label process and retreated. After avoiding the spotlight for a few years, Wheat are preparing to re-emerge in 2009 with a new record entitled "White Ink, Black Ink."  

The band will be playing new tracks at Brooklyn's Union Hall on February 12th and at South By Southwest, with "White Ink, Black Ink" to be released later in the year.

Girls, and this BLURT-approved songbird, just wanna have fun...steal a few bottles of wine... flirt with the guys... you know, girl stuff.

By Blurt Staff

As we told you previously, Maria Taylor, of Saddle Creek's Azure Ray, is gearing up to release her third solo album titled Ladyluck on March 31. Teaming up with producer friends Andy LeMaster (Bright Eyes, Azure Ray and a host of Saddle Creek label mates), Mike Mogis and Lukas Burton and featuring collaborations with Michael Stipe, Nate Walcott of Bright Eyes and Mckenzie Smith of Midlake, LadyLuck showcases Taylor's ability to pull at your heart strings while proving she's not a woman down on her luck. 

Already available on iTunes, "Time Lapse Lifeline" is about how fast life moves and how in a moment everything can change. Appropriately, the song is punctuated by both a driving beat and lingering, plaintive vocals The video for "Time Lapse Lifeline" features Maria alongside friends from local bands Har Mar Superstar, Whispertown 2000, Tilly and the Wall, and The Donnas - check it out below.

The album's second track, "Cartoons and Forever Plans" will be released on iTunes on March 17. As on previous albums, she works with Now It's Overhead's Andy LeMaster as well as new contributor, REM's Michael Stipe. 

After touring Europe with Joshua Radin in March, Maria Taylor returns to tour the US in April with Whispertown 2000 on the following dates: 

April 04 - Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds 
April 05 - Orlando, FL - The Social 
April 06 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits
April 07 - Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree 
April 08 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl 
April 09 - Carrboro, NC - Local 506 
April 10 - Washington, DC - Rock N Roll Hotel
April 11 - Philadelphia, PA - Barbary 
April 12 - Brooklyn, NY - Bell House 
April 13 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's 
April 14 - Boston, MA - Great Scott 
April 16 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place 
April 17 - Toronto, ON - El Mocambo 
April 18 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop 
April 19 - Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig 
April 20 - Chicago, IL - Schuba's 
April 21 - Madison, WI - High Noon 
April 22 - Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar 
April 24 - Omaha, NE - Waiting Room 
April 25 - Denver, CO - HI Dive 
April 26 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
April 28 - Seattle, WA - Vera Project 
April 29 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir 
May 01 - San Francisco, CA - Café Du Nord 
May 02 - Visalia, CA - Cellar Door 
May 03 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour 

"Time Lapse Lifetime":